Hunted By The Shadows
by Lionheart1
Summary: (AU Squinoa) Five beings who were locked away by Hyne now have somehow broken free. Is there such a contrast between love and death? Can Squall save Rinoa before they come to take her life? COMPLETE! Sniff sniff..
1. Awakening

Authors Note: This is a joint fic between my brother and me who share an account together. It's kind of a dark fic that came around when we was talking about witchcraft and something my friend had said to me and this got us thinking, and the result is this story. Unlike Nightmare in Balamb Street, which was also an attempted joint fic, we hope to actually continue writing this. So look out for updates soon. And now on with the story...  
  
Disclaimer: Square-Enix owns all the characters from FF8, although any original characters belong to us...well obviously...  
  
Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was dark. She stumbled through the dark void surrounding her not knowing where she was. The ground below her bare feet was cold. She looked down to see the dried earth. The surroundings were becoming clearer now, the darkness lifting from all around her. The air sighed, as if taunting her at what was to come.  
  
In front of her she saw tree after tree as if this forest surrounding her were never ending. They were coming. She could feel their presence closing in on her, tightening their grasp upon her. She could feel their invisible eyes watching from the high treetops above her.  
  
They were already here.  
  
She had been here before; it was the same place every night. She slowly placed one foot in front of the other. She knew there was no way out of this forest, the trees stretched on forever, but she had to try to escape from her demons. The snapping sound of a twig breaking stopped her in her tracks and her mouth went dry. Slowly she turned looking into the black, at first it appeared to be nothing, it was the same scenery she had walked through so many nights before. In the corner of her eye she saw a shadow move quickly among the trees. Her head jolted in the same direction but just as she expected it was the same thick darkness among the trees.  
  
Her fists clenched into tight balls as she tried to fight back the fear, not caring as her nails pierced her skin. She could hear the creatures of the forest calling out to her, or perhaps it was something else. All around her a low whisper echoed around the forest in a foreign language. It started softly, barely audible, and grew in volume until it became almost deafening.  
  
From within the trees she saw a dark lone figure emerge from the shadows, then another, then another...  
  
Time stopped for a moment as five figures stood in front of her, dressed in dark cloaks shadowing any features they may have. Fear took over her body and before she knew what she was doing she had turned back in the direction from which she came and was running for survival. Behind her she could hear the figures give chase.  
  
The loud thumping of her heart echoed through her ears and the blood rushed through her veins. The trees seemed to be against her as she dodged around them, ignoring the pain in her upper arm as the side of a tree scratched her letting the dark crimson flow freely down her arm.  
  
She glanced back over her left shoulder to see the five figures running not too far behind her. Her legs stung in pain, but she continued to run regardless. She could feel them gaining speed, hear their hurried footsteps getting louder as they closed in on her.  
  
She couldn't give up now; she pushed all her energy into her legs to try to escape. From the trees in front of her one of the figures jumped from the shadows. The woman came to a stop as the figure blocked her path. One by one the other four caught up and surrounded her. She had no escape.  
  
The first figure pulled out his hand from underneath his robe; she looked on in horror as she saw that his hand was on fire, the flames dancing wildly in the dark surroundings. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. The being traced a shape in the air with his hand setting the air alight where he touched. As the fire died down it revealed a short sword. Its metal exterior glistened from the moonlight above.  
  
The figure stepped forward; grasping the sword he walked calmly towards her. The woman backed away in fright as the figure edged towards her. She didn't dare look back, that would mean taking her eyes of her attacker. Before she realised she tripped over and landed with a loud thud on the ground as her foot got tangled in a lone branch. Four of the figures knelt down and held her down, each grabbing a limb. She struggled to break free from their grasp, but it was no use. The fifth member of the small party who held the short sword came forward and knelt down beside her. She felt the coolness of the metal against her neck as he pressed the blade close to her. She stared into the shadows where his face should be. She could sense their evil presence. It ran through her veins along with the adrenaline pumping throughout her entire body. They wanted her.  
  
Slowly she felt him release the pressure of the short sword from her neck. Saw the form bring the short sword over his head and quickly draw it down towards her heart. She screamed in terror as the scene flashed before her eyes. The scene unfolded in slow motion. She closed her eyes in fright as the sword came down towards her heart. She lay in wait to feel the pressure of the short sword go through her heart. Waited for the pain.  
  
~*~  
  
Her eyes shot open and she screamed. She lay there in her bed allowing the air to suck into her lungs while the recollections of the dream unfolded in her mind. She could feel the sweat clinging to her body. Looking to her bedside clock she saw that it was 3 am as she saw it was still dark.  
  
She stood from her bed and made her way blindly to her bathroom. Once she reached her destination she turned on the light and looked at herself in the mirror. Her chocolate eyes stared back at her with dark brown messy locks flowing freely towards her shoulders. She turned on a tap; the water flowed out into the sink swirling around before it disappeared down the plug. She cupped the water in her hand and splashed it on her face.  
  
From behind her closed eyes she could still picture the dream from just moment ago. It seemed to feel so real to her. She could still remember the cold feeling of the short sword as it was pressed against her neck. She studied herself once more in the mirror bringing a hand to her neck as if to make sure there was nothing there.  
  
The sound of something falling to the ground echoed through her ears, as she turned around startled by the sudden noise. It sounded like it had come from down the stairs. She slowly stepped out of the bathroom and out into the hallway. She stepped towards the stairs and stared over the railing trying to see what had caused the noise. Instinct took over as she grabbed the nearest object, a glass vase, for protection. Creeping quietly she descended the dark stairs looking for any evidence of an intruder.  
  
She reached the bottom of the stairs; listening carefully she still could not hear anything. She walked to the closest room and inched the door open to see into her kitchen. Once the door was open wide enough she slipped through the gap stepping further into the room. She flicked the light on and was thankful there was no one hiding among the shadows.  
  
Her heart suddenly stopped as she felt a cold breeze brush past her making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She stood transfixed in fear. She was afraid to turn around to face whatever had just passed her yet she knew she had to, another part of her wanted to run away and never look back. She listened for any footsteps behind but she could only hear silence.  
  
She dared herself to turn around, to face her fears. Waiting for a moment to build her courage she readied herself.  
  
She span quickly to face...nothing.  
  
She scolded herself for her childish fears. Maybe she had watched one too many horror movies. Shaking her head, she decided to return to her room. She still had some chance to catch up with some much needed sleep. She left the kitchen, flicking the light off as she went, and walked confidently back up the stairs. As she reached the top she replaced the vase to its home on a small table in the hallway.  
  
Pushing open the wooden door to her bedroom she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She looked at the bed, its lure inviting her back in. She was about to step over to it when she heard a smashing sound from out in the hallway. She was sure her mind was playing tricks on her but opened the door just to check anyway. On the floor lay the remaining broken pieces of the vase. She shook the fear away and thought that she probably didn't place it on the table properly; after all it was only 3am.  
  
Kneeling down she began picking up the broken pieces of glass. In her mind she could see the hand on fire from the dream. The fire growing and being manipulated into the shape of a short sword, the moon reflecting off the metal blade. She then saw the figure looking down on her. She was struggling to get away but she could feel the other four beings holding her down; their tight grip on her arms. She looked up to see the figure with the short sword in their hands raising it above their head and bringing it down towards her body.  
  
She snapped out of her state of mind when she felt a sharp pain in her hand. She looked down to see the dark blood running down her hand and dripping on the floor where she had cut herself on the glass. She let go of the glass to mend to her finger. From the corner of her eye she saw something dark rising; she looked up to see the shadow, the figure of a man, growing up the length of the wall. As soon as she saw it, she knew who it was. She had felt their presence before; it was one she had felt in her dream. The same feelings ran deep within her veins and pumped around her body like poison.  
  
She turned to face the shadow. It's face remained veiled in darkness although this time its eyes emanate from behind this cover. She could see fire burning deeply within them; an evil that told her what was to come. The same short sword held calmly by his side. Slowly he walked forward, her fear consumed her too much to defend herself now. He stood before her, this small gap between them allowed her to see the true horror behind the mask.  
  
Without warning he plunged the weapon into her stomach. Her eyes shot open to the pain as blood began to pour from her body, staining her nightgown. The shadow calmly removed his sword, allowing the woman to fall to her knees as her energy escaped her. The figure calmly turned his back and walked away disappearing into the shadows. Forcing the woman to die alone. 


	2. Shadow Visitor

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The young woman watched her reflection in the mirror as the brush made its way through her hair. She put the brush down on her beside table with a slow sigh as she studied herself in the mirror. She reached a hand up to adjust the strap of her wine red dress that made its way freely down her body and trailed down to the floor.  
  
She looked back at herself in the reflection of the mirror, studying every feature of her face. She raised her arm to the cool metal dangling from her necklace. She felt the smooth texture between her fingers. A lump formed in her throat and she tried her hardest not to cry. Twelve years it had been since the accident. How could twelve years feel like yesterday and a lifetime away at the same time?  
  
She felt the warm liquid run down her face as her eyes locked with another pair of eyes. Although it wasn't as clear now, the picture still meant a lot to her. She didn't care about the tattered edges. Nothing was ever perfect anyway.  
  
The sound of a knock at the door distracted her of her thoughts. She quickly wiped away the tears that had escaped from the corners of her eye. She heard heavy footsteps make their way through the room and her eyes narrowed slightly. She didn't have to turn around. She already knew who it was. His deep rhythmic breathing was the only sound in the room.  
  
He stood there for a moment, not sure how he should react as he knew that this was a hard thing to ask of his daughter. He just thought it would be a nice thing to do. To show that he still hadn't forgotten his deceased wife. How it had seemed a lot longer than twelve years, sometimes he couldn't help but wonder what his life would be like if she was still here. Maybe things would have been better with his daughter. He ran a hand through his hair trying to dismiss the thoughts running through his mind and concentrated on whom he had left of his family.  
  
He saw her standing there in the mirror. Looking beautiful. She was the image of her mother. Yet today he could see a loneliness in her eyes. The same loneliness he felt today.  
  
"They're ready for you now" he said calmly. "You can come when you're ready" He looked at her for a moment, and then turned to walk out of her dressing room. He stopped before he closed her door. "Good luck for tonight, Rinoa"  
  
As she heard the door of her dressing room close she looked over her shoulder to where he had been standing a few moments a go. He had been trying these past few years, but some things didn't disappear as quickly as others. He had gone and now she was alone once again in her room. A nauseous feeling come over her. At first when he had asked her to play the piano at the hotel where her mother used to work, she had strongly disagreed with it. Then she saw how much effort people had put into seeing her play, to show respect for her mother. She would play tonight, for her mother. Twelve years ago today her mother had died.  
  
Avoiding the upsetting memories she moved to the bedside table and picked up the music sheets. Slowly she stepped towards her door taking in a deep breath. She knew she could do this. She grabbed the door handle and walked out of the room, and followed the same path her father would have gone.  
  
She stood at the top of the spiral stairs, pausing for a moment to catch a breath before she descended to where everyone waited. Waiting for her to play her mother's song, to remember her twelve years later. She straightened her dress and slowly walked down, her heels clicking on the ground as she walked. She made her way down onto the stage, avoiding any eye contact with the people watching her. She was nervous enough without looking at how many people were there.  
  
She sat down by the piano and studied her music sheets. Inhaling a deep breath she placed her hands on the keys and began to play, her delicate fingers dancing over the ivory keys. As she played she couldn't help but think back to her mother. How could she not? It was her mother's music, the song which had made her famous, she was playing and everything in the hotel reminded her of what hurt her the most. She seemed to get into a trance and could no longer hear the music she was playing. She saw her hands moving, but no sounds were coming from the piano. From the corner of her eye she saw the audience looking. She felt confused. Their body language seemed to show that they could hear the music, yet she couldn't. She looked back down to her hands. She was stood on grass.  
  
Confusion took over her senses and she looked around her in panic. She saw a church and all around her were gravestones. Just in front of her a crowd stood wearing black. She could hear some of the people crying as the priest held the ceremony. She couldn't help but feel like she had been here before. The crowd looked familiar. The priest looked familiar.  
  
She took a few slow steps forward. She was still confused. How could she be here? One minute she was playing the piano, and now here...? A thought came to her mind as she came closer to the funeral but she quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn't possible. Through the crowds of people she could see the stone grave. The letters imprinted on the grave were becoming clearer now as she approached it. She was sure her eyes were deceiving her; there was no explanation to how this could happen. It was all a bad dream. She closed her eyes. She didn't dare open them again. She should be playing the piano now. Slowly she opened her eyes to find herself still staring at the gravestone. With the name Julia Heartilly engraved in it.  
  
"How?" she couldn't help but gasp as she saw it. Another wave of confusion mixed with fear filled her senses as she looked at the people concentrating on the funeral. It seemed as though they hadn't heard her speak as none of them seemed to pay attention to her. She knew those people. They were all there at her mother's funeral. Her ears pricked up at the sound of a young girl crying. She looked down and stepped back in fear. This really had to be a dream.  
  
Crouched down on the floor was a man. The man looked familiar. It was her father, looking a bit younger, as he cradled a young girl in his arms. The girl had long black hair and clung onto Rinoa's father tightly as she watched the funeral. Rinoa felt like running away when she saw herself as a child. How could this be possible? If she ran away, where would she run? So instead, she stood. She stood transfixed by what she saw in front of her. She felt like she was frozen in time as she watched the funeral take place. She studied every person there; some people she hadn't noticed were present before when she was a child. She felt she had to look at something, anything but watch the coffin or the gravestone.  
  
She felt a cool breeze rush past her skin, which made the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. She shivered with the new cold sensation that had come over her body. Wrapping her arms around her while her teeth chattered. She wondered how she could be here, as she looked down to notice that she was wearing the same dress she was wearing when she was playing the piano. She was distracted from her thoughts when she felt something brush past her. She turned to her right to see someone wearing black. She couldn't tell who they were due to the hood over their head, shadowing their face. She was sure no one had come to the funeral late when she was a child. Then again, she didn't really take much notice to whether people had come or not.  
  
Rinoa turned her head towards the person once more as she saw them move. He took a few steps closer, leaning over the empty grave. He stood for a moment looking at the hole and then turned to face Rinoa. How could he see her when no one else could?  
  
The man lifted his right arm over to his left side and reaching under her coat pulled out an object. She couldn't help but stare and wonder what he was doing. The mans hand pulled out what looked like to be some sort of sword, she couldn't tell. He smiled at the blade. Yes, this was what it was all about.  
  
Another sense of fear took over Rinoa's body as she saw him turn his body to face her. The man's eyes flashed evilly. This was the moment he waited for. The pain, the fear, it was what he needed to see. Yes, it felt good. She saw him draw his armed hand back and then quickly strike it in her direction. She screamed as soon as she saw his hand move into her and shut her eyes.  
  
She felt a sharp pain plunge into her stomach. Her eyes shot open at the pain. She looked down to see blood pouring from her body and stain the white night gown. She looked up to see the same man as before but couldn't help but notice the surroundings around her had changed again. She now stood in a dimly lit house. She guessed it might have been late at night. She studied her surroundings. This time she didn't know where she was. Her hands were stained in crimson.  
  
So much blood. It just seemed to pour out of her. Her hands were shaking and she felt weak. Her knees gave way and she crashed to the floor. Alone. Was this what it was like to die? Her eyes felt heavy and she struggled to keep them open. As he vision blurred she saw a door opened and she saw a small boy run towards her. He screamed out but she couldn't hear him. A hand grabbed the boy and spun him away. Maybe she was wrong in thinking that she was alone. The same man from before stood barely visible in the shadows. The small boy twisted from the man's grip and ran to help her. The man quickly launched after him and once again grabbed him. This time he raised the blade and sliced it across his face. She saw blood pouring from his face and heard his scream. Poor boy. Her eyes slowly shut and everything turned to darkness.  
  
It was peaceful. So quiet and dark. Maybe dying wasn't so bad after all. A sound of mumbling filled her senses. Who was talking? She felt her hands touching something. Slowly she opened her eyes to see her fingers on piano keys. She looked down to her stomach to see her wine red dress. Her breathing quickened. She was back. She wasn't dead. The voices caught her attention again. Rinoa turned her head to see the audience she was playing to looking at her with worried faces. She was still confused. What had just happened?  
  
She felt the hot tears burn up in her eyes and did what she had wanted to do when she had been in the graveyard a few moments ago. She ran. She could feel everyone's eyes staring at her as she ran up the stairs but she didn't care. She just wanted to get away. She felt herself bump into someone and muffled a quiet apology. She lifted her eyes to be greeted with a pair of ice blue eyes and couldn't help but notice a scar across their face. She stood still staring at him for a moment; she couldn't help thinking that she'd seen him before. Then once again she ran.  
  
Authors note: Just a little note to say we're really sorry for not updating any sooner! It was just really difficult thinking of the storyline for this story. We kind of know where we're going with this story now so hopefully it'll be updated quicker next time. Please leave a review! Thanks. 


	3. Memories Of The Past

Chapter 3 

The black metal pierced the horizon, the cold metal stretched up towards the gloomy sky. As it reached the top of its ascent it curled into cruel spikes. The gate surrounded the area, trapping the stillness, almost mimicking what this place represented. 

Sadness. Emptiness. Death. 

She paused at the entrance, inhaling a deep breath. Her mind was clouded with thought as she stepped through the field of memories. It looked just like it had done the night before. It had always looked the same; time never seemed to move within these gates. Her fingers clenched around the flowers that she had brought. The petals had bloomed, revealing the beauty inside them. They would stay like that for a few days, then like everything else, they would shrivel and die. They belonged here. 

A nervousness grew in her stomach as she built up the courage to step into the place she had been avoiding for the last few years. She slowly took her first step back into the area within the gates. So many times before she had been stood outside the gates. She had looked beyond the black metal gates but not dared step across that invisible barrier which was stopping her going inside. She never dared before. That was until now. 

Last night somehow she had been here. She had been stood inside the cemetery, when she was supposed to be playing the piano. Although now it only seemed like a dream. If only in her dreams, she had stepped across the barrier and made her way inside. So now she was here today, not in her dreams, but in person. She took another few steps along the cobbled path until she knew she was definitely inside. She stopped in her tracks and looked behind her. She saw the outside world beyond the gate. A small victory had been made. 

Once again she started walking, scanning her eyes across the many graves that surrounded her until Rinoa's gaze fell to the stone that rested in front of her. She bent down leaning close to the grave, her eyes stung but she held her tears back. _She_ wouldn't want her to cry. Her delicate fingers stroked along the top of the stone, brushing along a thin layer of moss that had begun to grow. She lowered her hand to the engravings of the grave, her fingers tracing the words that had been imprinted. 

_Julia Heartilly  
Loving Mother and Wife  
You will be missed_

A cold wind blew in her direction. She slowly placed the flowers down by the grave. They would sit and symbolise that people still remembered her. Then they would rot, just like everything else within these gates. She ran her trembling hand over the grass that covered her mother. Guilt suddenly filled her senses. She had only ever been here once before. She should have come more often, to be with her mother. She bowed her head down as the tears escaped and ran freely down her face. Broke free from the dams she had built over the years. 

Slowly she lowered herself down to the patch of grass. Closing her eyes tightly to try and stop the tears, she imagined her mother holding her. Telling her everything was okay and there was no need to cry. "I'm sorry" the words left her mouth muffled from crying. "I'm so sorry" she whispered. 

"Rinoa…?" a male voice came from behind her. 

Immediately she knew who it was. It took her back to reality. She quickly lifted herself from the grass and stood on her feet feeling weak. Wiping her eyes she looked down at her mothers grave one last time, although she could feel his eyes on her, like burning holes in her back. She turned to face the man who was supposed to be her father. 

He stood not sure what to do or say. He had never seen his daughter act as upset as this before. She stood there staring at him with emptiness in her eyes. He hadn't been there for her a lot of the time, he knew that. If he could, he would go back and get to know his daughter, but it was too late now. He didn't know what she was thinking, how she felt when she stormed out of her performance last night. He just didn't know anything anymore. "Rinoa…" he let out slowly, still unsure at what to say. He stared at the ground to try and make things easier for himself. "I guess I should apologise for last night. It was a bad idea and it was my fault" 

There was no answer, just the cold breeze that blew past his face. She had already walked away. "Sorry" he said softly, knowing that the words would not reach his daughters ears. 

~*~

The city was busy as usual. Many cars and people flooded through the city. It was afternoon. Making his way through the busy crowd, he finally stopped outside an old looking building. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside to see rows of bookshelves. The silence inside was completely opposite compared to outside the building. People sat sparsely around the large room, each one deep in their own thoughts. 

The young man walked through the library and walked to a bookshelf looking for the right type of books. He picked up various kinds of books, each one to do with Hyne and sat alone one a table. The same way he did everyday, although a part of him knew already that he wouldn't find anything of any use. 

Over the years he had grown to become dependant on religion, it was the only thing he had faith in. He had no family left, _they_ had seen to that. So this is what he would do for the rest of his life. Search through books, hoping one day to find more answers. 

He opened a book and began reading through the text. Most of the books he had read said the same things. Why did he still read them? He wanted to make sure that there was nothing he was missing. He read through the first three pages, and then somewhere along the fourth page he seemed to have got lost in his thoughts. He found himself thinking back to the night before. 

It was when he had been walking back to his apartment that he had seen the advertisement stuck against a wall. The Galbadia Hotel was holding a remembrance celebration for the deceased singer, Julia Heartilly. General Caraway's daughter was said to be performing there. Really, it wasn't his thing, but as he saw the picture of the generals daughter. He seemed to get drawn into her eyes. Somehow he felt he had seen them somewhere before. He wasn't going to go, but as he was walking home he found himself stood outside the hotel. 

He had made the excuse to go in for a drink; it wasn't as though he had anything better to do anyway. So he went in. He sat on his own and watched the start of the performance. He had watched as all the many people in the room quietened down straight away as she walked to the piano and they all listened to her play contentedly. He hadn't really been interested anyway, most of the time he had concentrated on his drinking rather than her. He had got up to leave before her performance had even finished. 

As he was walking away he couldn't help noticing the music stop suddenly. A few moments later he heard people murmuring to themselves. Just as he was about to turn around and see what was happening he felt someone run into him. That had been when he had seen her close up for the first time. He watched as her face went from shock then she seemed to stare at him for a short time, before running off once again. He couldn't help wondering why she had stared at him like that. If she was so desperate to run away, why stop for a moment to look at him? 

His thoughts were distracted when he realised that someone was staring at him. He turned his head to meet a blonde spiky haired man. The blonde man smiled slightly, whilst looking down at the books he had with him. "Hey there" he said in a cheery tone sitting down next to the quiet man. "I couldn't help noticing you reading books on Hyne" 

"Yeah…" the man stated looking back down at his book to read hoping the blonde man would leave him alone. 

"You know, if there's something specific you want I could help you," he said picking up and flicking through some pages of a book. "Anything specific you want to know. Prayer, myths, transport…" the man said with a little laugh at his own joke. 

The man looked up from where he had been trying to read his book suddenly thinking that maybe this man could be useful after all. "Got any books on myths?" he said slowly deep in thought. 

The blonde man nodded his head with a smile "The name's Zell by the way" he said walking to a near by bookshelf. He watched as Zell picked up a few books in his hand, and then returned back a few moments later placing the books down onto the table. "Dating the librarian here has its privileges," he said with another smile on his face. 

He picked up one of the books and flipped through the pages, secretly scolding himself. He had always looked at religion, why had he never thought to look at myths for the answers? He placed the pile of books he had earlier picked back in their rightful places then picked up the books on myths to take out. 

"Thanks" he said slowly as he began to walk out the door. 

Zell followed after the mysterious man he had seen at the library so often. "Hey wait," he called after him "I didn't get your name" 

The brown haired man turned around slowly to face Zell "Name's Squall" he said before turning to walk away. Maybe tonight he could find some answers on what had plagued his mind since he was a child. 

_Myth has it that Hyne had five followers when he created the world. He granted each one of them with a special power for helping and being the first to believe in him. The first follower was called Ifrit. Hyne granted Ifrit the power of fire. The second follower was a young lady named Shiva. Hyne granted her the power of ice. The third follower, Quetzacotl was given lightning. Leviathan was given water and finally Pandemonia was granted with the power of wind. _

The five followers, now with these new powers agreed to Hyne that they would take responsibility of being in charge of the elements they had been granted. 

Authors note: Once again, sorry its taken so long to update! Its just been really difficult to figure everything out with the rest of the story. Things may not really be making sense at the moment but just bear with us, it will make sense later on. I hope… Please leave a review! 


	4. Reflection Of The Night

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Rinoa leaned back in the leather chair in the reception area, her hands fidgeted nervously as she waited. She had no idea why she was so nervous; she had come here every week for the last three months so she had no reason to be anxious. She looked up as the receptionist flashed her a kind smile. "I'm sorry for the wait," she apologised. "Ms. Beck is over running today. She'll be ready to see you soon."  
  
Rinoa smiled politely at the young receptionist and nodded her head. She looked down at the watch on her wrist. It was half past two, not that she was in any rush to get anywhere. At least being here kept her away from the rest of the world, for a little while. With a sigh she looked around the reception area. Expensive leather sofas were placed against the oak panelled walls of the box shaped room. In the middle of the room was a table with various old magazines and newspapers in two piles for people to read while waiting. She turned to her right to find herself gazing out of the large window beside her, looking down on to the city below.  
  
Even in this quiet waiting room away from the rest of the busy town, she still felt that she hadn't escaped everything. She turned attention to the receptionist sat at her desk in front of her. The blonde woman was busy sorting through files until she heard a buzzing noise coming from the intercom. A few moments later she turned her attention to the tense raven- haired woman before her. "She's ready to see you now" she said softly.  
  
Taking a deep breath Rinoa stood from her seat and walked over to the door, which she entered once every week. She studied the wooden door in front of her. A gold plaque was fixed on the top half of the door with the name 'A. Beck' engraved in it. Raising a hand she knocked on the door and waited until she heard the door click as it was opened.  
  
From behind the door a middle-aged woman with greying hair stood. She was dressed smartly in a black skirt and shirt with a pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose. She smiled as she saw Rinoa stood at the doorway. "Hello Rinoa," she said with a smile "Please come in." She opened the door wider so Rinoa could step inside the room.  
  
She studied the inside of the small room as she heard the door close behind her. In the middle of the room there were two leather sofas, a coffee table was placed between the two with a small notepad placed on it. Holding her arm out, the woman led Rinoa to the first sofa. Waiting for her to sit down, she followed suit sitting on the other sofa. Leaning forward she smiled at Rinoa as she picked up her notebook. Flipping open the notebook, she read the notes of their previous meeting before looking at Rinoa again. "How have you been since I last saw you?" she said taking out a pen.  
  
Rinoa looked at the woman in front of her. She knew how this worked now; it was the same sort of questions every time. "You're the psychiatrist," she said sounding a lot colder than she had intended to. She let out a small sigh and looked to the floor. "Things have been okay I guess."  
  
"Are things getting better with your father?" she asked, watching Rinoa closely.  
  
"Well, we haven't had any arguments this week" she said looking back up to face the doctor "And I decided to do the performance. Thanks to your advice you've given, Ms. Beck, it's helping a lot," she said with a smile.  
  
The woman dismissed her formality "Please, call me Alison. I'm glad it's helping" she returned back to the subject "How did you find the performance?"  
  
Rinoa felt something inside her freeze up. The performance had been hard to do, but it had gone well. That was, until she got taken to the cemetery. Something she really didn't want to discuss at this moment. What could she say? She was only seeing a psychiatrist by choice, she certainly didn't want to say things like she was hallucinating. She was sure she wasn't completely mad. Maybe she was just hallucinating...? There was no other logic she could think of, unless she somehow fell asleep, but in the middle of a performance? Some things didn't quite make sense.  
  
"Hard," she said simply, her eyes avoided Alison's. "But once I started playing, it got a little easier."  
  
Alison looked at Rinoa, her eyes searching Rinoa's. "Are you sure?" she asked, feeling that Rinoa was trying to avoid something.  
  
Rinoa looked at Alison. "Yes." She really didn't want to talk about that now, but at the same time, something was screaming at her to tell Alison. She was a psychiatrist, she was here to help, and maybe she could give a logical explanation. "It just brought back memories."  
  
"Memories of what?" Alison probed deeper. "Your mother?"  
  
Rinoa nodded her head slowly, the visions played over in her head as she was forced to think about it once more. A cool breeze swept over Rinoa and she felt herself rubbing her arms trying to warm up. "It was like... I was somehow there again."  
  
Alison cocked her head to the side. "You were where again?"  
  
The words never reached her ears. She saw herself there again. Stood in the cemetery. Staring down at the grave. The people surrounding the grave. It was all happening again, like a movie playing in her mind. In the distance she heard the soft music from the piano. The piano that she should have been playing at that time.  
  
"Rinoa?"  
  
The words brought her back to the small room and she saw Alison looking at her. "Where were you again?" she repeated.  
  
This time the words did reach her ears. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and the fear seemed to erupt inside. What was happening to her? "The cemetery" she said barely audible. "I hadn't been there since the funeral. I was too scared to go before. Then when I was playing, I was just there," she tried to explain.  
  
Alison gave her a confused look "You were in the cemetery when you were playing the piano?"  
  
Rinoa simply nodded her head "Yeah," she said with a small laugh, but there wasn't any humour in it. "I was playing, then when I looked up, I was in the cemetery. There was some strange looking person. I've never seen them before in my life."  
  
"Can you describe what they looked like?" Alison asked.  
  
Rinoa shook her head, not wanting to think of what they looked like. "I don't remember," she lied.  
  
"Please try Rinoa, it's important. Are you sure you don't know them?" Alison pleaded with the young woman in front of her.  
  
Again, she was reluctant to think back, but this time she saw them in her mind. "I couldn't really see them because they had a long black cloak on, covering his faces" Rinoa said slowly, she waited for a reply from Alison but there was only silence. So she continued. "I think they had some sort of weapon with them, like some sort of sword. I can remember looking at it. It had all these strange symbols on it. Then he stabbed me with it," she said with another laugh, but there was no humour in that either.  
  
"What happened next?" Alison asked.  
  
"I was bleeding. Then I was in a strange house; I'd never been in this house before. I was bleeding and I can remember seeing a young boy running to me but the same person who stabbed me cut him with his sword. Then everything went back to normal and I was at the piano again," she starred at Alison. "I sound crazy, don't I?" she let out a small sigh "What happens now?"  
  
Alison looked down to her notes, then back up to Rinoa. In all her work she had never dealt with anything like this. "Do you have problems sleeping?" she asked.  
  
Rinoa slowly nodded her head "Since it happened, it just repeats over and over in my head. I can't sleep"  
  
Alison slowly closed her notebook. "I think we've talked enough for this weeks session," she said slowly "I'll prescribe you some pills to help you to sleep and we'll see how things are next week."  
  
Rinoa nodded her head and stood from her seat "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"  
  
Alison looked at her sorrowfully "Of course I don't think such things, Rinoa. I think you've been under a lot of stress lately and doing that performance in memory of your mother would be very emotional for you." She said leading Rinoa to the door, she took some pills out of a cupboard and handed them to Rinoa. "Try these, they'll help you get some sleep"  
  
Rinoa took the pills from her hands and headed towards the door. "Thank you, Alison," she said slowly "Please don't tell anyone about this"  
  
"All of my sessions are confidential" she said with a smile "If you ever need to talk, you know I'm here to listen"  
  
Rinoa nodded her head and said goodbye before leaving the building, and entering back into the busy crowds of people in the large city.

* * *

The darkness had already begun bleeding into the sky as the sun was lowering. The once warm day was beginning to cool down and leave a chill in the air. She wrapped her arms tightly around her waist to try and warm herself up. Her pace began to quicken as she saw the apartment block ahead of her.  
  
Since leaving Alison she had walked around the busy streets of Deling City, not really sure where she had been going. The walk was what she needed. Something to clear her mind and keep her away from the inner demons in her mind. Although, Rinoa knew she would get lost in her thoughts. The never changing scenery didn't help distract her from the thoughts. She had been so lost in her own mind that she didn't realise she was heading straight towards the cemetery until she was once again stood outside those tall metal gates. Strange, how she had never dared go to the cemetery since she was four, and there she was, for the second time in one week. Or was it three times? She didn't dare think. So she just stood there, peering through the cold metal gates like a small child wanting to see what was beyond a high wall. For a long time she had stood frozen, before making her way back to her apartment.  
  
She entered inside the tall building and pressed the button for the elevator. Once she stepped inside she pressed herself against the silver wall in one corner. She never had liked elevators, but she defiantly didn't want to walk up ten flights of stairs to get to her apartment. The humming noise of the elevator sounded as it made its trail up to her destination.  
  
As soon as it stopped and the doors opened she quickly stepped out into the hallway. She desperately wanted to get back to her apartment and sleep. A shiver ran through her spine, for the last few days, sleep had meant turning uncomfortably in bed trying to get that horrible image out of her head. He had been standing there, sword in hand. Brought it into her. The blood.  
  
She quickly dismissed the thoughts and was glad when she saw a familiar face also stood in the hallway. Amy was her neighbour, and over the past few months they had grown to be quite close friends. She stood with her long dark hair tied back, her hands were rummaging through her bag and she hadn't even noticed Rinoa standing there.  
  
"Need some help?" she said in a friendly voice studying her neighbour closely.  
  
Amy turned round to see Rinoa, and smiled. "Hey Rinoa, didn't see you there" she said with her arm at the bottom of her bag. "I think I've lost my keys to my apartment" she said placing the bag down on the ground. Rinoa watched as she checked her pockets to find the lost keys.  
  
"Maybe you left them at the library" Rinoa offered. Amy had begun working at a library near by just after Rinoa had moved in. "I'm sure you won't mind checking at the library, if you're lucky _he_ might be there" Rinoa said with a smile. Part of the reason she had begun working at the library was because her crush sometimes came in the library for a few books.  
  
As soon as she heard the words leave her friend's lips she felt the heat raising in her cheeks and she had to look to the ground. "Maybe you're right about leaving them in the library, but saying _he_ will be there certainly won't make me want to go" she said still feeling the heat in her face. She placed her hand in a pocket on her jacket and pulled out her set of keys. "I guess I really should work on my searching skills," she said with a smile waving the keys in the air.  
  
Rinoa laughed at her friends' comment taking out her own set of keys and opening her apartment door. She looked inside her apartment. The light from the outside hallway was seeping onto the floor of her apartment leaving the ceiling crawling with darkness. She felt a shiver run down her spine again, thinking that she should stop scaring herself over such small things. Only small children are scared of the dark. She turned to her companion. "Want to come in for a while?" she said, pleading inside her mind.  
  
Amy dropped her bag down inside her own apartment and then made her way towards the raven-haired girls apartment. Rinoa looked back to the shadows within her room, then with a new confidence, she flipped on the light switch. Suddenly the shadows didn't seem as frightening anymore.  
  
Authors note: Yes, Amy is the library girl from Final Fantasy VIII. I'm not actually sure how many characters from the game we will be using in our story, but we'll try to put most of them in where possible. Once again, sorry for not updating any sooner! We are still trying to figure out where this story is going but we always end up thinking too far ahead then forgetting another vital piece of information or it ends up not making sense. Anyway, please be kind and leave a review. Even if you want to tell us how bad our writing is, just leave a review! Thank you!


	5. Paper Torment

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Five  
  
_As the population of the world grew over the centuries, the five followers of Hyne noticed that a farmer had a special connection with the Earth in his blood, which could only be noticed by those who were immortal. Ifrit was the first to see this, so he went to see Hyne, worried at what was happening.  
  
Hyne simply told Ifrit that every being has some connection with the Earth, but some were stronger than others causing them to have unknown powers. Although Ifrit still wasn't convinced at what was Hyne had told him, he left and went to tell the other four followers his findings. Ifrit didn't like the idea of a non-believer having some powers. Just as Hyne had said, the others told him not to worry and that it didn't mean anything.  
  
So the five followers went back to their work for another few centuries until Shiva started to notice that there were more people with the same sort of connection with the Earth. She told Ifrit and the five of them went to see Hyne to tell him what was happening. Like before, Hyne told them that it was simply natural and nothing bad could come of it. Like before, each of the five followers left and carried on with their duties.  
  
That night as Ifrit was watching down on the world he saw a boy playing on the field under the evening sun. The young boy was laughing and running. He ran in circles with his arms in the air, like young care free children do, until from out of nowhere came a fireball from the young boy. He stood there shocked unaware that Ifrit was watching him, angry with envy because he has the same powers as himself.  
  
The townspeople began coming out of their homes to see the small fire in the field from the young boys powers. They began applauding and cheering at this miracle. This made Ifrit even angrier. No one had ever applauded him when he had given them fire.  
  
He glared down at the happy people, and then began to take control of the fire the boy had made. He made it grow out of control until it reached the townspeople's homes and burnt everything. He never let the fire stop until the young boy was dead. He made sure the death was of the boy's own creation.  
  
Ifrit, now happy at what he had done decided to meet the other four followers. He told them about the boy making the fireball and how the townspeople had applauded him. The other followers listened and agreed with his concerns. After some persuasion, they all decided that this wasn't right and if Hyne wouldn't do anything about it, they would. Non-believers shouldn't be able to do such things.  
  
So all of the followers set off in search for people in the world who could 'connect' and killed them. This went on for some time before Hyne realised that the people on his world were living in fear. He went to see why by finding the five followers. It was then he saw a human being tortured by Ifrit, with Shiva standing closely behind him, smiling.  
  
Hyne was furious at what he saw and ordered them to stop. When they continued to torture a villager he tried explaining to them how doing this would destroy the Earth, as it shared energy with those who could 'connect' and in return of their energy they sometimes got a small amount of the Earth's elements.  
  
Hyne watched the five followers he once trusted with his world. He noticed how they had all grown cold since he had last seen them, now gaining pleasure from torturing any mortal who could connect. He began to grow angry at his decisions. He took away their souls, locking them in darkness where they would stay for eternity and would pay for their mistakes.  
_

_

* * *

_

  
  
Squall closed the book he had been reading, and placed it down on the table in the library. He looked down at the black leather bound book on the table. He didn't know why, something kept bringing him back to that story of Hyne, although he wasn't yet sure if this had anything to do with any of this. There was just something about the name Ifrit, something seemed familiar about it, but he wasn't sure what.  
  
Sighing to himself he picked the book up and was about to put it back on the bookshelf when a figure stepped in front of him. He looked down to see the blonde man from the other day smiling at him. What did he say his name was? Zell...?  
  
"Did you find that book useful which I gave to you the other day?" he said eyeing the book in Squall's hand. He leaned back casually on the bookcase with his arms crossed, a smile fixed upon his features.  
  
"I guess" Squall said slowly, placing the book back on the shelf and then turning to walk away. He really wasn't in any mood to be bothered by other people today.  
  
"Hey, Squall man," Zell said calling after the quiet man "wait!" He watched as he saw Squall stop in his tracks and turn to face Zell again. The look on his face did not look happy. Zell suddenly felt uncomfortable and rubbed the back of his neck feeling nervous. "I just wanted to ask you for some advice. You know, man to man talk"  
  
"Man to man talk?" Squall questioned raising an eyebrow slightly, he wasn't sure if he liked where this conversation was going. Sighing in defeat his looked at Zell hoping this would be over quickly, and he would leave him alone after this.  
  
Zell smiled to himself as he saw Squall stood there listening to him, he took a slight step closer to his companion and lowered his voice a little. "I dunno, there's this ball happening in a few days." He pointed his face in the direction to the library reception desk to where Squall saw a young woman with long dark hair tied back loosely, he turned his attention back to Zell who had a smile fixed on his face. "Her name's Amy"  
  
"You want to ask her to go with you?" Squall asked understanding where this conversation was leading.  
  
"You think she'll go with me?" he asked the man in front of him. "We've been dating for a while now and everything but this is a ball... that's serious stuff, different from going to a Café."  
  
Squall sighed looking at the blonde man, why did he have to be in this situation? He cursed himself secretly for not walking away when he had the chance. "I guess you'll never know unless you ask her," he answered slowly, hoping that would shut Zell up.  
  
Zell smiled again punching the air in excitement "Thanks man!" He said back to his usually happy tone of voice "Oh, and you can come along as well if you want. Amy has this really cute friend, I'm sure you'll get on well with her, she's good looking." He said with a wink.  
  
"Why don't you go with them both if you think that much of them?" he said quietly under his breath.  
  
"Hey good idea" Zell said, his eyes widening. Squall suddenly felt an idiot, his comment wasn't meant to be heard by anyone, it especially wasn't meant to be taken seriously. Zell stroked his chin with his finger in thought "Although I'm not sure Amy would appreciate it, and it might ruin my chances. I think it might be better if you take her" he said looking back towards Squall.  
  
"I don't know" was all Squall could manage to say. He wasn't one for going to social events, and he certainly wasn't one for getting dates. His thoughts were distracted when he felt Zell pushing him towards the front of the library. "What are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"I want you to meet your future date," he said quietly with a wink as they approached two girls at the reception. Squall stood uncomfortably as Zell waved at the two girls. He looked at the girl Zell had been talking about earlier as Zell made his way next to her looking a little uncomfortable. He guessed it was about asking her to the ball. "Squall, this is Rinoa," he said pointing behind to where Squall was stood.  
  
He turned around to come face to face with the raven-haired girl. He studies the features on her face, deep coffee brown eyes starred back at him. He couldn't help feeling that he'd seen them somewhere before, an even bigger feeling was telling him that Zell was right about Rinoa. He suddenly cursed himself for thinking such things; a thought came to his mind that talking to Zell wasn't good for him.  
  
"I'll leave you two kids alone" a voice said behind him. Squall looked over his shoulder to see Zell giving Squall a wink before walking away with Amy.  
  
Rolling his eyes he turned back to see Rinoa starring at him, her head resting on her hands as she leaned against the desk. He couldn't help a nervous feeling growing inside of him as he saw her looking at him. "Hi" she said in a soft voice.  
  
"Hi" was the only words that could come out of his mouth. He couldn't help the strange feelings that were running through his body. Why did he always get himself in these difficult situations?  
  
"You look familiar" Rinoa said slowly taking her head out of her hands and took a step closer eyeing him suspiciously. "I don't know why, I just feel like I've seen you somewhere before" she said slowly.  
  
Squall studied her for a moment, she did look familiar. Her face, he was sure he'd seen that face before. It was then he remembered that night a few days ago. "You ran into me in the Galbadia Hotel" he said realising.  
  
"Oh," was all she said before turning her attention to her feet in embarrassment "Sorry about that. I guess I should learn to look where I'm going next time," she said with a smile.  
  
"It's okay" Squall said slowly "I guess it's my fault as well, as I didn't see you running towards me either." He watched her intensely as he saw her smile and nod her head slowly.  
  
Squall's eyes suddenly caught site of something lying on the reception. Where she had been stood before, there was a piece of paper on the desk. His eyes widened as he saw a sketch. The sketch was in the shape of an eye, and inside the eye was a cross with a line looking like a trail of smoke. Something inside him tightened and he felt it difficult to breath. That symbol. He'd seen it many times before. Why had someone drawn it? A fear suddenly took control of his body.  
  
"Are you alright?" he heard Rinoa ask. She couldn't help noticing the distant and pale look in his face. "Squall..?" she asked again beginning to get worried.  
  
He looked up to see her face "I'm fine" he said quietly and began making his way out of the library. He stopped in his tracks as he felt a hand grab his arm to stop him. His turned back to see Rinoa.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked feeling confused at his sudden movements. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I've just got to go somewhere," he said pulling his arm out of her grasp and exiting the library.  
  
Rinoa stood as she watched the door close feeling confused. Had she said something wrong? She went through the past few minutes in her mind trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Why leave so suddenly? She turned around facing the desk again with a sigh. Why was she so worried, she had only just met him. She looked down as she felt a texture under her fingers. A white piece of paper sat on the table with a sketch on an eye on it, which she had drawn without realising? She had been stood there with a pen in her hand. The eye looked back at her as if taunting her. It was the same symbol that was on the short sword. The same short sword that the figure held in her dreams.  
  
She tore the paper into as many pieces as possible, then threw it in a nearby bin.  
  
_Authors note: Okay, I promise, next chapter things should start to come together and make a bit more sense. Thank you for those who have reviewed... well for the one review. Thank you to Dark Angels, this chapter is dedicated to you for reading our story so far and having patience with us. Ummm... please review?_


	6. The Ball

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Six  
  
The black material trailed its way to the ground. She looked at it nervously for a moment in the mirror. Why did she feel so nervous? She didn't know the answer. Her eyes stayed fixed on the long flowing material, it felt silky under her fingertips. She took a step back examining it once more. The long black dress hung off her body curves and flowed freely to the ground. It showed a tasteful amount of cleavage and a slit on one side of her dress revealing one of her legs. She hadn't been one for wearing revealing clothes, but she was single and she knew you only live once. Why not live a little?  
  
She took one last look at herself in the mirror before stepping out of her room. She saw Amy look up from the magazine she had been reading to study her friend. A smile formed on her lips as she studied her friend. "Wow, get you," she said to the raven haired girl, "You're certainly going to have guys crawling on the floor for you tonight"  
  
Rinoa shook her head and rolled her eyes at her friends comment. Amy gave a wink and walked to the window in Rinoa's apartment. She was dressed in a navy blue dress, which flowed freely down to her ankles. "You think Zell can find his way here?" Rinoa said picking up a brush and running it through her hair.  
  
"Probably, if he knows where I live I'm sure he'll find his way here. He's probably just been held up," she said turning to Rinoa. "So... this guy Zell keeps talking about, you think he's going to show up tonight?"  
  
Rinoa looked at her friend confused at whom she was talking about, then her expression dropped as she realised who. She couldn't help her gaze turn to the ground as she remembered what had happened the day before. Why had he left like that? They had only just met, could she really scare him off that quickly? She remembered his face, those stormy blue eyes and that scar. It was a face she would remember, one she couldn't get out of her mind. His expression had changed; she wasn't sure what it was. Fear? Why would he go from that serious expression, to fear? Some things didn't make sense.  
  
Her thoughts stopped as she realised Amy was still expecting an answer from her so she simply shrugged her shoulders "Who knows" she said trying to sound as thought she didn't care "Maybe, but he'll probably be with someone anyway."  
  
Amy studied Rinoa for a second, then shook her head "I doubt it, he's in the library everyday. He's always alone, until Zell started talking to him anyway" she said thinking about the mysterious man "Come to think of it, he must be there nearly all day. Why would anyone want to be there all day?"  
  
"Maybe he's studying" Rinoa said as she saw her friends bemused expression. She watched as Amy looked at her in doubt, "People study" she said pointing out the obvious still unsure why she was defending a guy she had only met once. Their conversation was interrupted when there was a knock at the door. She turned from her friend and walked towards the door. Zell stood wearing a black tuxedo with a rose in his hand, obviously for Amy.  
  
He smiled when he saw Rinoa at the door "Hey Rin" he studied Rinoa "wow, you're really going to knock Squall out tonight". He gave Rinoa a wink as the smile widened on his features. He walked assertively towards Amy and handed her the rose before holding his arm out. Amy linked arms with him to complete the gesture. "Sorry it took me a long time to get here. It's just so hard to walk with this damn suit, plus there was the traumatic experiences of looking like a penguin"  
  
The two girls couldn't help but laugh at his behaviour. He looked at the two girls in shock "I'm being serious you know" he said with a playful tone in his voice. He eyed the two girls before returning back to a happier expression "Lets go party then" he said before stepping out of the door.

* * *

The car pulled up outside the ballroom. Zell quickly opened the door and held it open for the two women. The night sky had begun to pull it and a cool wind was beginning to pick up. Rinoa looked up the stone steps to the large building in front of them. Large wooden doors stood at the top, and music was emanating from the inside.  
  
Zell once again linked arms with Amy, whilst Rinoa walked alongside her two friends. As they reached the top Zell pushed open the doors and was greeted with an overwhelming view. The ballroom was decorated in elegant golds and silvers, the colours appeared throughout the room. In the centre of the room a large chandelier hung gracefully above the dancing couples. At the front of the room a large band was playing, their music danced across the entire room.  
  
Immediately a waitress walked towards them, smartly dressed for the occasion. On her hand was a silver platter with several glasses of champagne. She proceeded to grant a glass to the three friends. Zell smiled as they walked away from the waitress. "Wow, free drinks as well...this looks like it's going to be an even better night than I imagined."  
  
Amy frowned at his comment. "And I suppose you expect to help you walk home when you've had too much to drink."  
  
Zell seemed to misinterpret this as he leaned in to hug her. He then turned to Rinoa. "See how much she loves me?" he said with a wink only to be playfully hit in the stomach, in response Zell acted injured for a moment before returning back to his normal stance. He then spun around as though he was looking for something. "Hmm...doesn't look like Squall is here yet," he said as he scanned the room.  
  
"Maybe he's not coming" Rinoa said trying to sound cold, although deep down she couldn't help the budding feelings of hope that he would turn up tonight.  
  
"Well, if not I'm sure there will be loads of other guys who want to dance with you" Amy said as she studied the people surrounding the dance floor then returned her attention back to her friend and smiled reassuringly. Zell took a step near Amy and took her hand in his own with a playful smile on his face.  
  
"Would you care to dance?" he said placing a kiss on the top of her hand. He looked up to see her smile and roll her eyes at his attempts to be romantic. He couldn't help but be in a good mood tonight, the young woman standing in front of him was his date for the ball. He had finally found the courage to ask her that day at the library after his conversation with Squall, since then he had felt on top of the world.  
  
Amy smiled down at Zell at his offer, she wanted dance with Zell, but she couldn't help feeling guilty leaving her friend alone. She turned her attention over her shoulder to Rinoa. "Is that okay?"  
  
Rinoa looked at her friend "You don't have to ask permission from me, he is your date" she said with a reassuring smile at her friends concern, her tone turned more playful "Now go and have fun" she said pointing to the dance floor looking stern whilst trying not to laugh. She watched as the couple moved towards the dance floor and leaned against the pillar behind her.  
  
It was then that she did what she had wanted to do since she had first entered the building. She scanned the room for the mysterious man whom she felt she had scared off the other day. She remembered Zell had said his name was Squall when they had been introduced. Squall. He looked so serious when he had turned around to face her. His facial expression only faltered just before he left. Since then, she had wanted to speak to him again, even if it was just to say sorry for whatever she did, and never see him again. She just really wanted to see him here, tonight.  
  
She felt a presence coming near her and turned her attention back to the ball. A man was stood in front of her, his hair was black and spiked up and he wore an expensive looking tuxedo. "Hi" he said smoothly "I couldn't help you noticing you were alone and thought maybe you'd like to dance? A pretty girl like yourself shouldn't be by herself."  
  
She stared blankly at the tall man stood in front of her for a moment unsure if she should take his offer. No harm could come of it, it's not like she was with anyone. Squall wasn't even here and there was no point going to a ball if she didn't even have at least one dance. Yet, she couldn't help stubborn thoughts in her mind telling her that she didn't want to dance, not with the man stood in front of her anyway. "Maybe later," she said slowly "It's just I'm supposed to be meeting someone".  
  
It hadn't been a complete lie; Zell had said Squall would come. So in a way they would be meeting, but he just wasn't here. She really hoped that the man would accept her excuse and not see the guilty look on her face. She watched as he looked around him, and then back to Rinoa "This person you're meeting doesn't seem very good at keeping promises, and I'm sure he won't mind if you have one dance with someone else"  
  
Rinoa looked up at the dark haired man and shook her head "I'm sorry, I just don't want to dance yet" she said walking away from him slowly.  
  
"Won't you even let me get you a drink?" she heard his voice say behind her.  
  
She turned to look at him over her shoulder "Sorry" she said amazed that this man was still pestering her "I just don't feel very well, so I'm going to go get some fresh air outside". Once again, she felt an idiot for lying to this stranger who was only trying to be nice.  
  
"If you feel ill, perhaps I should come with you, so I know you're okay" he said softly, his eyes trailing down her body.  
  
"My friends are here, I'll come to them if I feel any worse" she said before turning away from him and walking quickly in case he said anything more. She made her way through the crowds of people and sighed in relief when she saw the exit close by.  
  
Once outside, she felt the freezing temperature on her skin making her shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the brick wall of the building. She turned her head up towards the sky amazed by how beautiful the moon looked as it glowed in the night sky. She looked deep into the sky at the stars, something that she used to do as a child. She always used to look to the stars, as if searching for something. She could still hear the music from inside the ballroom as if floating around her in the cold outside. A lone star flew through the sky leaving a trail behind it. A shooting star.  
  
Rinoa turned her attention down from the sky as she heard footsteps near by. Turning her head to the right she was faced with a brown haired man. His stormy blue eyes looked back at her. "Squall" she said softly as she saw him step closer to her "I didn't think you were going to turn up tonight". She couldn't help the relieved feeling inside of her.  
  
"I wasn't," he said simply, turning his attention away from her and up to the sky.  
  
She studied him closely; he was dressed in a smart suit and tie. The dress attire that would be expected at a formal event such as this. "Then why are you dressed up?" she said slowly, feeling curious about what she should say. The feelings still lingered from the day before in the library, and she didn't want to scare him off again.  
  
There was a long pause as Squall kept his attention at the sky. She gave up on expecting an answer and thought he probably hadn't heard what she had said. So she stayed there silent with him, stood in the freezing night, trying her hardest not to shiver too much.  
  
"You cold?" he said. She turned to see him looking at her; she nodded her head wrapping her arms even tighter around herself. "Maybe you should go back inside, it might be warmer in there".  
  
She looked back towards the door, which led towards the ballroom, then back to Squall, "Now that you're here, why don't you come in with me?" she said.  
  
Squall slowly nodded his head before the two headed inside the elegant building. Once inside Squall studied the inside of the ballroom, he couldn't help noticing how stunning it looked. He saw Rinoa look back at him over her shoulder and smile before heading over to her two friends.  
  
Zell looked at Rinoa then to Squall with a smile. "Yo Squall, you finally made it then" he said with his usual energetic emphasis and watched as Squall simply nodded in silent response.  
  
Squall couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable stood with these three people stood by him. He watched as they talked and joked around with each other, although not listening to what they were saying. The thought still lingered in his mind of why he was actually here? It was the same thoughts as why he had walked that night past the Galbadia Hotel and stopped in his tracks to enter inside. Why had he gone to these places? Still he felt the same feelings inside him as if some kind of spell luring him into these places.  
  
Today he was here for one reason only, although he wasn't sure how to approach the subject. So he tried the first thing that came to his mind, he slowly took a step closer to Rinoa "Would you like to dance?"  
  
Rinoa turned her attention to Squall and couldn't help the smile form on her lips. "I'd love to," she said, her voice turning shy. She carefully took hold of his hand and led him towards the dance floor. She stopped as she found a place and turned to face Squall who looked increasingly uncomfortable in his current situation.  
  
He watched as she took his arm and positioned his hand on her hip, he felt the warmth of her body and the silky feeling of her dress seemed to dance on his fingers. She then placed his hand in her own and they began to move with the music. The couple span around the room, their bodies moving in perfect synchrony.  
  
He couldn't help but find himself staring into her eyes; he could feel himself getting lost within those chocolate-coloured eyes. Squall knew this would have to be the time to talk to her so he inhaled deeply before talking "That symbol" he said quietly "Why was it there on that piece of paper in the library?"  
  
It felt like a dagger had pierced her skin as soon as the words left his lips, why was he asking such things? "I drew it," she said slowly, trying to erase the thoughts of the sword, which the symbol was on. The short sword, which the figure carried in her dreams.  
  
He looked at her curiously "Why did you draw it?" he said seeing her eyes turn to the floor. They were no longer dancing, just stood there on the dance floor. He watched as she took hold of his arm and dragged him away from the dancing couples. The happy music now contrasting with the subject they were getting on to.  
  
She led him back outside where they had met earlier and stood in silence for a moment before turning to look him in the face. "If I tell you, you'll probably think I'm crazy," she said quietly and turned her eyes to the floor. She wasn't sure why he was asking her this. "I saw it in a dream"  
  
Squall looked down on her form as he saw her shivering from the coolness of the night. "Just one dream?" he said questioning her further. He saw her shake her head, he feared that would be the answer "The symbol, it comes in your dreams every night, doesn't it?"  
  
Rinoa turned her eyes from the ground back up to Squall in confusion "How did you know that?" she asked. She looked on as she saw Squall suddenly look uncomfortable and turned his head away from her. It was then she felt the fear come over her "It's just a dream though, it doesn't mean anything" she said trying to ignore the way he had reacted.  
  
Squall scoffed at her comment and stared down at her "It's not a dream Rinoa" he said raising his voice in anger "and it does mean something". He saw Rinoa look at him in fear and suddenly he felt guilty for raising his voice at her "I don't know what it is yet, I'm still searching for the answers" he said, softer this time.  
  
Rinoa stared back at him "Why?" was all she could say "How?" Nothing made any sense to her anymore, she had been telling herself it was nothing more than a dream, and now he was telling her it was something more?  
  
"I don't think they've been after you for that long, but they don't have a time limit," he said more to himself than to Rinoa "They've been haunting me since I was eight years old. I've been trying to find a way to stop them for the last few years"  
  
Rinoa looked at Squall in shock "You have the dreams too?" she said slowly. Squall nodded his head and looked out in the distance.  
  
There was a silence for the next few minutes where the two stood unsure of what to do or say next. Rinoa went through the conversation in her mind over and over. What did he mean when he said _they_? She couldn't help but feel sympathy towards Squall, she had only had these experiences for a while, but since he was eight years old? It was amazing how he never showed any fear at all. The thought suddenly struck her, was that why he had left in such a hurry when they were in the library? She played the scene over in her mind again; he _had_ shown fear when he had seen the symbol.  
  
"When I got here you asked me why I was dressed up" his voice said. She turned towards him to see him looking at her "I was going to come here, then when I got here I realised it wasn't something I would enjoy. I was just about to leave until I saw you stood outside alone" His voice trailed off and he returned back to silence once more as the darkness lingered around the pair of them.

* * *

Authors note: Longest chapter written so far! I hope it has made sense; things will start to reveal themselves as we write more. Please leave a review as they make me happy and give me encouragement to write more. Thank you! 


	7. Crimson Dreams

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
It was probably night. The darkness wasn't helping him see his way through the small room, or maybe it wasn't the darkness. His vision was blurry and distorted, like looking through frosted windows. The young boy brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes frantically. Just as he did every night, and every night the same the same result. His eyes still couldn't focus properly.  
  
He made his way towards a wall where he could just make out a light switch. The room lit up as he pressed the switch. He looked up to the light in the centre of the ceiling, the brightness making him squint his eyes. Just like any child, he never really liked the dark. The light was something that, as it engulfed him, it gave a sense of comfort and eased his mind of his childish fears. Yet on this night however, it didn't seem to have the same effect. The light had done its purpose of chasing away most of the shadows, but as he gazed at the light through his frosted vision, he didn't feel the security it usually gave. The light almost seemed darker than usual, even though it still had the effect to pain the naked eye if looked at for long enough.  
  
His young legs made there way anxiously towards where the wooden door stood. His legs came to a stop as he reached the door and pressed his head against the cool wooden frame, and waited in silence. Waited to hear anything from beyond the door. A few minutes passed before he dared to move. The silence bringing more fear than any noise could. He knew something was out there, or at least, had been out there once. Something had awoken him from his slumber, usually he wouldn't think anything of it, but tonight was different. Tonight the air felt thick, something was lurking around, making his mind overly active.  
  
His mind thought back for a moment, something had awoken him. A sound had awoken him, then he remembered hearing a door open and footsteps. He knew who the footsteps belonged to; the soft footsteps on the wooden surface of the floor beyond his bedroom door seemed familiar to him. He had heard her presence out in the hallway, he wasn't really sure what she had been doing, but she had been there. It was the sudden silence that had made his mind more active. No more footsteps in the hallway to reassure him. Just silence.  
  
He stopped his earlier thoughts as his fears were taking over his mind again. Slowly he reached for the door handle and he opened the door. The light from his room streamed into the dark hallway. The darkness seemed thick, yet it seemed as though it was inviting him into the hallway. The young boy took a few steps further into the deep black when he suddenly stopped in fear. His eyes locked onto something on the floor. Someone.  
  
It was that moment it felt like time stopped. He was frozen, not able to breathe. Not even able to run away and cry from what he saw in front of him. It was this point that his vision started to clear. Now he was able to get a better picture of the body collapsed on the floor, her back facing him. A part of him was glad he couldn't see her face. Her white night gown soaked with the blood. The lifeless body lay in a pool of deep red crimson. The pool of blood ran out into streams, as if reaching out for help. It trickled down across the floor, reaching towards the young boy. He watched as the red liquid made its way towards his bare feet, the liquid felt warm.  
  
His breathing became fast and panicked, and he felt the sour taste of bile rising to his throat. He turned away from the body and slowly made his way back towards his room, the wooden floor felt slippery under his crimson stained feet. His vision became blurred again, but this time it was because of the tears welling up in his eyes. Stinging as they made their way down his cheeks. He closed his eyes to try and stop the tears.  
  
The next few moments became a blur as darkness clouded his mind. He felt his body move; yet not sure what actions he was making. He felt a pain across his forehead although he couldn't see anything. He felt a warm liquid run down his face, just like it had done on the floor, but this was his blood. The rusty taste filled his mouth as the blood made its way past his lips. His eyes shot open suddenly. Something was there, although he wasn't sure exactly what it was. It looked like some sort of symbol. An eye shape, inside was a small cross. Lurking behind the cross was what looked like a trail of smoke rising up. Just below the eye was a tear, as if it was crying. The symbol then disappeared as the darkness filled his mind once more.

* * *

Squall awoke and jolted upwards to find himself alone in his bed. His breathing was heavy and his body was dripping with sweat. It was dark. He looked over to the clock beside him to see it was four in the morning. With a sigh of relief he rose from the bed and switched on the light, watching as it illuminated the room. Although the childish fears of the dark had passed, he still felt the security in light.  
  
He moved to the bathroom, flipping on the switch as he entered. More light, to chase away the shadows. He made his way towards the sink and held himself up weakly with his arms, studying himself in the mirror. Squall raised one hand and touched the scar that made its way down his forehead. How many more nights of his life must he be haunted by his past? He closed his eyes, still feeling the scar on his fingers. He could still feel the taste of blood in his mouth, feel the liquid on his feet as it dried and felt tight on his skin.  
  
The pool of blood, why did it have to reach out to him like that? It was too late, he couldn't do anything to save her. He quickly turned around and vomited in the toilet beside him. The sour taste in his mouth almost bringing a comfort, at least then he couldn't taste the blood. He rose back towards the sink and filled a glass with water, the cold liquid seemed to sooth him as it made its way down his throat.  
  
Feeling a little better, he made his way back into his room. He frowned as he noticed how untidy it looked, with newspaper cuttings and books scattered messily around the room. He went to his desk and pulled out a small velvet box, he reached his hand inside and brought out a folded piece of paper. Squall opened up the piece of paper to reveal several drawings. He looked at them closely, one was of a hooded person with a short sword held in his hand. There were five figures in total drawn, but only one had a weapon. Next to the picture was a drawing of an eye. It was the symbol he dreamt of. He let out a tired sigh as he held the aged piece of paper in his hands. "Why had you drawn the same symbol that Rinoa drew?" he said to no one but the empty air around him, for he knew that she would never be able to answer.

* * *

Rinoa walked down the road, noticing how it was a pleasant day as she saw the sun shining down, warming the city. Her mood was content, although she had still been haunted in her sleep, just the thought of knowing she wasn't going through this alone gave her some comfort. However, at the same time it scared her of how this unexplained event could happen. She remembered him saying that he had had the dreams since he was eight years old. She thought perhaps, that he could explain a bit more to her about what was happening, although she wasn't entirely sure if he knew himself.  
  
She turned the corner, feeling slightly nervous as she saw the library. She remembered Amy saying that Squall was at the library almost all the time researching, so today she needed to see him, to maybe get some questions answered. She sucked in a deep breath as she neared the building to calm herself, and then made her way into the library.  
  
At the desk Amy smiled as she saw her friend enter "Hey Rinoa, have fun last night?" she said putting her head in her hands.  
  
"Yeah" Rinoa replied with a smile, now wasn't the time to talk, she really needed to find Squall. She turned to her friend "I've just got to do something, I'll be back soon," she said looking around the library and leaving Amy. Walking towards the back of the library she noticed a lone man dressed in black sat down at a table, with a pile of books in front of him.  
  
A small smile crept on her face as she realised it was Squall, and took a seat at the table to sit directly in front of him. She watched as he turned his attention from the book in his hands to her. "Hi" she said slowly, unsure how to start the conversation.  
  
"Hi." he said quietly before returning his attention back to his book and began reading again. A part of him wished that last night he hadn't confronted her about the symbol, so he decided to ignore her for the time being.  
  
Rinoa placed her hands down on the table still looking at Squall "You reading anything interesting?" she said, trying to sound calm although her heart was pumping hard in her chest. Why did she feel so nervous about this?  
  
She saw his eyes lift from his book once more then return down to the page. He realised that she probably wasn't going to go away so with a sigh he closed his book and looked at her. "Can I help?"  
  
She felt satisfied now that she had his attention and leaned forward nearer to Squall lowering her voice slightly "It's about what we were talking about last night." As soon as the words left her lips she saw a slight change in his eyes, they seemed to look angry. Ignoring his look she turned her attention to her hands "I just want to know what's happening," she said slowly.  
  
"You don't know?" Squall said almost shocked, then he realised that obviously she wouldn't. Not many people did know, he contemplated that maybe it was better that way. At least then they wouldn't know what their fate was. Rinoa had asked him; maybe she had a right to know "I'm not sure you would want to know" He said still considering whether or not she should know.  
  
Rinoa looked at him confused for a moment "Of course I want to know. Just tell me what's happening, please" she couldn't help the pleading tone in her voice becoming noticeable.  
  
Squall looked her in the eyes "I'm not sure the exact moment they come for you, but I've been studying for a while and I'm thinking that maybe there is a small chance that you might be able to fight back. Most people are unaware when it happens, but maybe if you know, you can prepare and protect yourself"  
  
"What are you saying?" Rinoa said, still unsure at what she was hearing.  
  
"I know that's what I'm going to do when they come for me, maybe I'll live, maybe I won't" Squall said, his words sounding colder than meant he meant them to "You're going to die, Rinoa."_Authors note: I thought I'd be cruel and have more of a cliffhanger at the end of this chapter, but it will continue next chapter. Note to readers: remember the symbol. It's something that developed during later chapters, which is why it wasn't mentioned at the beginning, but it's something that will come in more within the next few chapters. I actually went as far as designing and developing the symbol through sketches, so I'm hoping it'll fit in the story and won't be a waste of my time. Please review! _


	8. Redemption

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
She looked frozen. Her eyes still locked onto his, with that look of desperation. Desperation for answers, and it was all his fault for bringing this onto her. He had let the words roll off his tongue, knowing that it would affect her life from now on. One breath had brought the words to her ears.  
  
"You're going to die, Rinoa"  
  
Her eyes hadn't looked away or shown anger from his words. She hadn't shown that she didn't believe him, or even shout at him. She was still here, still with that look in her eyes. Squall had never seen anything like that before, the way she reacted. Silence. Her desperate eyes locked into his. Frozen.  
  
Guilt pumped through his veins as he looked at her vulnerable form, and he suddenly found it hard to keep eye contact with her. Suddenly he feared that look in her eyes, he never wanted to see that look again for as long as he lived. Squall's eyes shifted down, towards anywhere away from her.  
  
He heard the presence in front of him stand and walk away from him, hearing her footsteps make their way out of the Library. It was then he let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temple with his fingers. He really hated where his yearning for answers was leading him. It had been a few years ago when he had first started his research. He promised himself he would do this alone, that was when he didn't know anyone else who was going through the same experiences as him. His thoughts went on to Rinoa. Yet at the same time, he knew that she shouldn't be involved in this, there was nothing he could do for her.  
  
The scenery around the Library suddenly darkened. He was in that house again, in the hallway. He looked down at the corpse on the floor in front of him. Her back facing him, lying in that pool of deep crimson. Her hair was drenched in blood, parts of her hair were beginning to dry and clot together. An arm lay lifeless, with flaky dried blood over her hand. The pool surrounded her, stretching out and breaking off like streams. The small streams leading towards Squall, as if they were hands trying to reach out for him. Call out for help, but it was too late. The stench of blood filled his nostrils, he felt the blood reach his bare feet; surrounding them in the warm crimson.  
  
The walls of the house suddenly dropped, and he was back in the library again. Still sat at the small table, the chair pulled out opposite him, where Rinoa had recently been sat. He thought back to that day, when he was eight years old. That day that had changed everything. He was too late to do anything to help her. Squall quickly rose from his chair and made his way out of the library.  
  
The sun outside shone down as he made his way through the doorway. He was surprised to find Rinoa stood just outside the library door; she looked as if she were lost. Squall watched as she turned her head in his direction, her once placid eyes now showed a look of loss and fear.  
  
"I'm sorry" was all Squall could manage to say, not really sure if they were the right words she wanted to hear. He looked out into the distance so he didn't have to see her features. His mind was still a little dazed from the crimson images he had just seen a few moments ago.  
  
From the side of him he heard a sigh escape Rinoa's lips "Just tell me everything you know, Squall" she said quietly "Even if I don't like the answers, just tell me."  
  
Squall turned to face Rinoa once more; her features seemed to plead to him. Slowly he nodded his head. She deserves to know, he thought to himself. "I'll show you," he said slowly, before walking away from the library as Rinoa soon followed after him, not quite sure where he was taking her.

* * *

Squall paused at the black-painted door, his hand slid into a pocket and emerged a moment later with a set of keys. Slipping them into the lock he opened the door and stepped to the side allowing Rinoa to pass. She moved past Squall, silently examining the surroundings.  
  
The apartment was very small, in the room, which they stood there was a sofa against the far wall. In front of the sofa there was a large coffee table, its surface littered with several books and papers. Rinoa noticed that the apartment was very simple, only the bare necessities could be seen, and what could be seen was very impersonal. She noticed that there was nothing that showed Squall inhabited this place. On a shelf to the right of the sofa there was a golden cross, one that would be commonly seen in churches.  
  
"So this is where you live?" Rinoa said turning to face Squall, still inspecting the environment around her. She watched as Squall nodded his head, looking slightly uncomfortable, before walking towards the coffee table.  
  
From the coffee table he picked up one of the many books hidden underneath the pile of papers. Taking the book firmly in his hands he flipped through a few of the pages before handing the open book to Rinoa. "Read this," he said watching as she took the book from his hands "I think it has something to do with everything that's happening."  
  
Rinoa studied the book in her hands for a moment; it was one of those books, which told of ancient mythology. She began reading the page, which Squall had opened the book to. It was a story of Hyne, and his five followers. A story, which she had never come across before, but she gathered that this was why it was in a mythology book.  
  
Squall sat down on the sofa, silently waiting for her to finish reading the text in the book. He was here to show her everything he knew; he thought that maybe this would be something that could help redeem him from his previous comments. He still felt guilty from before; he could still see that haunting look in her eyes from when she had been in the library. He heard Rinoa shifting and looked up to see her closing the book.  
  
"What does this have to do with what's happening to us?" she said smoothing her fingers over the leather cover of the book in her hands.  
  
"The people that have died in the past," Squall began "Their deaths are always caused by some kind of sword, which is strange because swords are weapons of the past. Also I found that the wounds always have a clean cut, which could only be made from a heated blade."  
  
Rinoa let his words sink in, as she slowly made her way to sit on the sofa next to Squall. She watched as he lifted a pile of newspaper cuttings. "These are all stories of suspicious deaths over the past fifty years that I've managed to collect. All of these people have been killed by the same method, a clean cut which could only be caused by a heated sword," he said handing them over to Rinoa.  
  
"How do you know this is anything to do with us?" she asked flipping through the first few articles of victims who had been killed.  
  
Squall pointed to the article on the top of the pile "This is what began my search. If you read, it describes how when this mans body was found, there were drawings of a symbol of an eye, which he had repeatedly drawn all over his walls before his death. It describes the symbol in the article, and I think that it's the same symbol we've been seeing in our dreams," he paused for a second, before continuing again. "Since then I've been searching through suspicious deaths and found a link between the killings. It could just be some type of serial killer, but its been happening for fifty years, maybe even longer. No serial killer lasts that long, and they've never found any evidence for a suspect."  
  
Rinoa looked back down at the book on mythology, "You think it has something to do with this?" she asked picking the small, leather book up once again.  
  
Squall looked away for a second unsure of how to reply "Maybe," he said "Although I'm not sure yet, but the fact that we have the dreams suggests to me that it's not just some serial killer. I believe it's something that's not human."  
  
He watched as Rinoa looked away, a small glint of fear was visible in his eyes. "Don't be scared," he said quietly "They'll sense your fear."  
  
Rinoa studied Squall for a moment. Hanging on a chain from his neck was a gold cross, something which she had never noticed before. Squall was religious. For a moment, their eyes locked. Rinoa gazed deeply into those stormy blue eyes, looking so serious yet full of emotion. Perhaps it was awkwardness in the current situation, whatever it was, it made her want to reach out to him and try to ease his suffering. Suffering of having the burden of all the dreams since he was a young child. She finally managed to turn her eyes away from him as she returned her attention back down to the newspaper cuttings on her lap.  
  
Rinoa began to scan through each of the newspaper articles, feeling sorrow for what all these people had to go through. She couldn't help feeling uneasy thinking that this will happen to her one day, in the future. She found the earliest article towards the back; it was a photocopy of the newspaper, something which had probably been researched in the library.  
  
She looked up for a moment seeing Squall sorting through the piles of paper and many books on the coffee table, then returned back down to scan through the rest of the articles. She turned to the very last article, it was quite old as the edges of the newspaper were now crumpled and a little torn. Attached to the newspaper was a photograph of a young girl, looking around the age of sixteen. She studied the photograph closely, and then looked at the article. It was a picture of the same girl. In the article it had the girls name written. Ellone Loire.  
  
Rinoa looked back up at Squall "How did you get this photograph?" she asked as she looked back down to the article. She began to start reading the text until it was quickly snatched from her hands. She looked up to see Squall with the article in his hands, walking away from her.  
  
"That article has nothing to do with this" he called from behind him as he entered through a door on his right. Once inside his bedroom he placed the article inside a cupboard and locked it away, alone in the darkness. He returned back to see Rinoa looking slightly confused "It has nothing to do with any of this" he repeated._Authors note: So there you have it, the conclusion of the previous chapter, and a bit more has been explained! Although I hope there has been more confusion in the story, and even more to be answered in the future. How evil of me! Thank you Keiry and Dark Angels for your reviews, made me smile. _


	9. Bitter Changes

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Rinoa shifted uncomfortably in her seat, as she looked to the other end of the sofa. A significant gap between her and her companion. She quickly glanced at him before returning her gaze to the woman sat in front of them. Rinoa stayed sat quietly not really listening to what her companion was telling the woman. She watched as Alison Beck listened intently to what he was saying. Today was one of their weekly visits to visit Alison, although usually Rinoa was the only one who turned up. She didn't really have any intention of turning up on this day however, due to her last visit to Alison. The visit where she had talked about her dreams.  
  
It was only early this morning that her father had turned up at her doorstep wanting to come with her. These visits to see Alison were for both her father and Rinoa; he had only turned up a handful of times. So now she sat quietly as he told Alison of how his work kept him busy.  
  
Alison scribbled a few notes down in her notebook before turning to both Rinoa and the general. "So have the two of you spent any time together recently?" she asked.  
  
Rinoa thought for a while, visiting her father was the last thing on her mind at the moment, since everything she had found out with the dreams. She slowly shook her head "No," she said softly "We haven't seen each other since the day after the performance" She thought back to that day in the cemetery, she hadn't been able to face her father then. Not after she had run out of her performance the night before like that.  
  
"Were you together for long?" she asked adjusting the glasses that rested on the bridge of her nose.  
  
Were they together for long? She had walked away, not wanting to even look at him. From the right of her she heard her fathers deep voice "No, she was busy at the time" he explained. Rinoa turned her head towards her father, she hadn't been busy at the time, but she knew he didn't want to say the fact that she had walked away from him.  
  
Alison closed the notebook and looked at her two clients. "I think that you need to get to know each other again," she said. "Because over the years you have separated yourselves from each other and you've both changed as you've grown. What I suggest is that you spend some time with each other. I'd say as soon as possible, like today. It can be as short as five minutes or as long as you feel comfortable with. Just get used to being around each other again, you don't even have to talk."  
  
She paused to look that they understood what she was saying. "It can even be a simple walk around a park, or somewhere familiar." She stood from her seat opposite the two individuals "I'd like you to do that for me, and next week we'll discuss this further"  
  
Rinoa stood from her seat and thanked Alison as she led them to the door. From behind her, she could feel her father's presence come closer as they exited the room while saying goodbye to Alison. She stopped as she heard Alison call her name and turned to face her.  
  
Alison stood at the entrance of the door "Can I talk to you for a second?" she watched as Rinoa entered back into the room and closed the door. "How is that medication working that I gave you?" she said.  
  
Rinoa felt a shiver run down her spine as she remembered their conversation from before. "It's helped the sleeping," she said, ignoring the fact that it still didn't help the dreams she had, but now at least she knew why. "It's helped a lot" she lied. At least then, maybe Alison would think that perhaps she was no longer having these dreams.  
  
Alison smiled "I'm glad" she said before opening the door once more "I'll see you next week" she said before Rinoa left the room again.  
  
Once outside the room Rinoa saw the general stood awkwardly "Do you want to go for that walk now?" he said looking down towards Rinoa.  
  
Rinoa thought for a moment whether or not she should, before thinking that no harm could come from a simple short walk. She nodded her head before quietly making her way out of the building with him. Once outside, they made their way onto a path away from the busy parts of Deling City. It was a lot quieter and peaceful, the path also led towards the cemetery. The cemetery where she stood in her dreams.  
  
Rinoa walked silently along the path, her arms wrapped across her chest. She admired the tranquil view of this quiet city area. The thin gravel path was edged with unruly grass that gave way to delicate flowers that danced in the soft wind.  
  
"I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot lately," Caraway said, his voice broke the silence as the wind picked up.  
  
Rinoa stopped in her tracks to look him in the eye. "Lately?" she said raising her voice. "I don't call twelve years 'lately'." She stopped herself as she saw the hurt look in his eye, knowing that this is exactly what she shouldn't be doing. Inhaling a deep breath, she looked down to the ground softening her voice "Just make sure you're around in the future" she said before walking again.  
  
Caraway began to follow her, his pace quickening to keep up with Rinoa. Together they continued to walk in silence along the gravel path until the cemetery came in sight. It stood amongst trees and the church stood tall, its golden colour, radiant from the sun.  
  
The black gates rose from the horizon as they neared, the tall spikes still appeared threatening to Rinoa and she felt her feet slow until she stopped. Her eyes looked through the invisible wall to the stone that rested under a tree in the distance. She felt her father's presence grow near and his footsteps fell to silence.  
  
"I know you probably don't believe me," his voice came out softly. "But I do miss your mother as well."  
  
Rinoa turned to look at him, his eyes filled with sadness. The same sadness that tormented her. "I know," she said quietly. Her eyes gazed onto the rows of gravestones. "I think I want to be left alone now," she said turning to her father. She watched as he nodded his head, giving her a slight smile of understanding, before turning to leave.  
  
She watched as he made his way back down the path, until she could no longer see him anymore. Once she realised that she was now alone, a slight chill ran down her spine as she remembered her dream from the night before. Usually it gave her some comfort in knowing what was going to happen in her dreams, except last night however, her dream had changed slightly. Just like the first time she had her dream, she was in a strange house with a young boy running towards her. She had never experienced that again, she was always stood in the cemetery watching her mother's funeral take place, before being attacked by a strange figure.  
  
The previous nights dream had played over in her mind. Like every other night, she had been stood transfixed at seeing the funeral, until she saw someone new. A figure, this time a woman, stood before her. The woman had black robes on, like the other figure, however she had black material wrapped around her head, which covered all of her face apart from her eyes. Rinoa felt herself shiver in fear as she remembered her eyes, something that she couldn't forget. The woman had bright blue eyes, with no pupils. Loose strands of her colourless hair blew freely in the wind. She had stood and stared at Rinoa in a threatening manner, as if testing her.  
  
The woman had stood there, until the figure that usually haunted her dreams came beside the strange woman. He had looked at her for a moment; it was then she had pointed in Rinoa's direction. The hooded man then took out his weapon; she had seen that mourning symbol again, like every other night. He had then run towards her, to stab her as he did every night, and like so many other times before, she had awoken just before the attack had taken place.  
  
Her thoughts were distracted as she heard footsteps from behind her. From earlier thoughts her mind began to panic as to who was behind her.  
  
"Rinoa," the voice called.  
  
She quickly spun around to see her confronter, and was surprised to see Squall, looking slightly shocked at her sudden movements. Seeing Squall, her body relaxed from her sudden fear. "What are you doing here?" she asked studying Squall.  
  
"Going to church," he said quietly "I just need to do some thinking" he continued, whilst walking towards the church.  
  
Rinoa followed after Squall, still a little shaken from thinking about her dream. "You need to go to church to think?" she couldn't help the small smile form on her lips as she saw him nod.  
  
"I need to talk to you about what you told me yesterday," Rinoa said, following after him as he made his way along the footpath to the church.  
  
"What about it?" he said, turning over his shoulder to look at Rinoa. He entered inside the church and sat along one of the pews near the back.  
  
Rinoa studied the inside of the church, it was quite big from the inside, and the stained glass windows along the sides were beautifully decorated in bright colours. She took a seat next to Squall and took out a newspaper article, which had been in her jacket pocket. Opening it up she handed it to Squall. "This is a copy of one of the articles you showed me yesterday," she said, looking at Squall "It is the most recent death you have got"  
  
Squall took a look at the article before handing it back to her "So?" he said coldly.  
  
"Squall, this man had a wife. It says here she lives in Trabia," she pointed out while taking another piece of paper out, this piece of paper had an address on "Her name is Selphie Kinneas, I've got her address right here. Maybe if we visit her, she might know more about what happened and give us more information, more than any newspaper could tell us"  
  
She watched as Squall looked down at the paper with the address on, then turned to face away from her. He remained silent for a minute before speaking again "When people start to lose faith in everyday things in their lives, sometimes they turn to other sources," he began "I first began to have faith in Hyne a few years ago, when I didn't have any answers. The thing what makes religion so important to people, is it gives them something to believe in, even if there is nothing there. With Hyne, we have the stories, and take the parts of his teachings with us. The same with these killings, we take the facts, because talking to the victims is only going to cause pain to them"  
  
Rinoa stared at Squall in silence taking in what he just said. "So you're saying we shouldn't go?" she asked, understanding his reasons. Yet she still couldn't help the feelings inside her, yearning for answers.  
  
Squall turned to face Rinoa once more "I'm not saying you shouldn't go, I'm saying be careful what you say. She may still be grieving" He watched as she looked down to the address in her hands in silence.  
  
"If I go, will you come with me?" she asked "I understand what you're saying, but I think it's important for her as well as us. It might give her some comfort knowing what happened to her husband, she may believe that her husband has been murdered in cold blood by someone"  
  
"Is that such a bad thing?" he said thinking out loud. He took the address from Rinoa's hands and rubbed his fingers along the smooth texture of the paper, in thought. Finally he turned to face Rinoa. "I'll go with you," he said "but I hope you know what you're going to say to her."

_Authors note: Whoo! Another cliffhanger! Alright kids, I really hope all that made sense, especially Squall's little speech. I'm so proud! Ummm... yeah... Don't flame me for the whole religious thing and psychiatrist advice if I got it wrong. My reply will only be "It's AU, I can do what I want!" Please leave a review, oh and thank my brother for actually contributing to this chapter! Usually he just sits and makes excuses when I need help. Thank you to all the reviewers Karaoke Risa, Keiry and of course, Dark Angels for tolerating this story and putting up with all my cliffhangers!   
  
Tune in next time for Chapter Ten when our heroes go off for another action packed night of scary dreams and newspaper articles! Hmmm.... I've been working on this story too hard.... Please review; it will make a girl on the verge of insanity very happy. _


	10. Frozen Warmth

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
The endless white fields of snow expanded on the horizon. Mountains in the distance had new snow settled on their peak, reflecting off the sun high in the sky making it seem to almost glow. Rinoa starred out the train window, admiring the beautiful scenery that was presented outside. The temperature had dropped dramatically, compared to when they had left Deling City a few hours ago, yet the cold temperature in Trabia didn't bother her at all. She admired the beautiful landscape around her.  
  
Seeing some buildings in the far distance she turned to face her companion. "Looks like we're nearly there" she said watching the quiet man beside her. He hadn't spoken most of the journey, however she didn't care, she was glad he had agreed to come with her here in the first place.  
  
Squall looked up from the book he had been reading throughout the journey, and looked out in the distance. "We'll probably arrive in a few minutes," he stated simply, then returned back to his book.  
  
Rinoa frowned at his lack of communication and observed the book he was reading. It was the same book he had showed her when he had explained everything to her. The day she found out she was going to die. The memory made her mouth go dry, she still didn't want to think about it. Taking her mind away from the thought she returned her gaze back on Squall, he looked so serious. "You know, reading that same story over and over again isn't going to get you any closer to solving this" she said with a smile, hoping to make some conversation.  
  
"Maybe not" he stated plainly, looking up to meet her eyes briefly before returning back to his book.  
  
"Then why do you keep reading it?" she asked "You must have read it enough times in the last two hours we've been sat here, you probably could recite it" Her response from Squall was a shrug of the shoulders. Sighing in defeat from trying to make simple conversation, she returned her attention back out of the window. The once vast area of frozen tundra had now formed into many buildings, as they entered the outskirts of the town. She was distracted temporarily as she heard the crackling from the speakers, as the driver spoke.  
  
"We are about to be arriving in Trabia in approximately two minutes. Please collect all of your belongings and make sure no items are left before you exit the train. We hope you enjoyed the train journey, and thank you for travelling with Trabia Rails"  
  
From the side of her, Rinoa laughed as she saw Squall frown from the tacky sounding announcement. He looked at her for a moment, confused at what she was laughing at, then stood to collect his belongings together ready for the departure. The train slowed down and stopped with a sudden halt as they entered the station.  
  
Departing from the train, Rinoa stopped suddenly as a bitter cold wind ran through her hair. The ice breeze pressed against her skin like a mask, as if trying to suffocate her. She watched as a small cloud of smoke escaped her lips as she exhaled, her hot breath mixing with the cold air that surrounded them. She instinctively wrapped her arms around her chest as she tried to warm herself.  
  
Squall turned to look at her. "It's not that bad, once you get used to it."  
  
"You've been here before?" she asked, still trying to keep herself warm.  
  
He nodded. "Once or twice," he said turning on the souls of his feet and making his way in the direction of the exit leading out of the station and into the sub-zero town. Once out in the streets he turned back to Rinoa. "Have any idea where you're going?"  
  
Taking out a small folded piece of paper, Rinoa looked at the address "Do you?" she asked, remembering him saying he had been here before.  
  
Squall shook his head "Maybe we should find a hotel first, I'd hate to spend the night sleeping on the streets in this weather," he said watching a visibly freezing Rinoa "Then maybe we can ask someone where we need to go"  
  
She quickly agreed and followed as Squall began to walk down the street. "There's one just around the corner," he said without slowing down. He quickly turned into the next street and as Rinoa tried to change direction found her feet give way beneath her as she slid along some ice. She landed hard on the ground with a thud. Her cheeks quickly turned a crimson red as she looked up to see an amused looking Squall, she swore for a moment she saw a slight smile on his face.  
  
"Well I'm glad I could entertain you," she said sullenly as she stretched a hand upwards. "Care to give me a hand?"  
  
Squall stood suddenly feeling awkward for a moment as the gesture was presented to him. He stiffly reached his gloved hand out to her bare hand and helped her back on her feet. He looked at her hand, looking a light shade of pink from the cold as it sat, still placed in his own hand. His eyes locked in hers for a moment, and he found himself unable to look away. He could still feel the contact of her hand in his, bringing a foreign comfort to his senses. "Maybe you should get some gloves" he said pulling his hand away and returned back to making his way towards the hotel.  
  
Rinoa stood still for a moment, watching as he walked away from her. A strange sadness filled her, but she quickly discarded it as she saw him make his way to a building, which she assumed to be the hotel. She began walking at a quick pace, yet at the same time watching where she placed her feet, in case she stood on ice again. As she entered the hotel she felt a warm breeze blow on her face from the heating inside.  
  
Rubbing her hands together, she stepped further into the reception area. Looking around, she saw a wooden receptionist desk in front of them, a woman stood behind it. Her red curly hair stretched down to the middle of her back. She smiled as she saw the two guests approach the desk.  
  
"Hi there," she said sweetly. "How can I help you?"  
  
"Have you got any spare rooms for the night?" Rinoa asked.  
  
She looked down to the checking book behind the desk. "Yes, we do," she said smiling brightly "Would that be a room for the two of you lovers?"  
  
"Actually we're not-"  
  
"Okay, I'll just get the key for you" the bubbly woman said cutting Squall off half way through his sentence. She grabbed a key from the wall and handed it over to Squall. "You're expected to be out your room by 4pm tomorrow, or if you need to stay another night you should book before noon. Have a nice stay."  
  
Rinoa saw the angry look on Squall's face as he snatched the key from the happy receptionists hands. She followed closely as they made their way down the corridor towards where their room was located, and paused for a moment as Squall unlocked the door. "It's not that bad sharing a room with me is it?" she asked observing his miserable face.  
  
Squall frowned as he looked at Rinoa. He twisted the doorknob and entered inside the room, placing his bags down on the floor by the wall in the corner. Rinoa looked around the room. It was simple by taste; a sofa sat at the edge of the room. Above the sofa there was a large window that looked over the snowy mountains, covered in virgin snow at their peak. On the left- hand wall there was a door that led to the bathroom. Against the right wall there rested a double bed, which Squall took liberties at by scowling at it.  
  
"I'll sleep on the sofa," he said studying the stunning views out of the window. He looked over his shoulder to see Rinoa place her bags down, and sat on the bed. She saw Squall looking at her and smiled, taking off her jacket. She looked at her watch to see it was 5pm.  
  
"I think it would be best visiting Selphie Kinneas tomorrow," she said smoothing imaginary creases on her black trousers. "It is getting a little late now" Rinoa looked in the distance to the gradually darkening sky in the horizon. It was too early to go to sleep, and sleep was the last thing she wanted right now, for that would mean that her dreams would come once more.  
  
Squall nodded. "Do you know what you are going to say to her yet?"  
  
Rinoa shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said looking to the ground "I guess I'll just have to say that I want to help her find out exactly what happened to her husband, and see how much she does actually know herself"  
  
"And what happens if she doesn't know anything, or you upset her?" he asked, his voice sounding monotone.  
  
Rinoa shrugged her shoulders slightly "I guess it's a risk I'll have to take," she looked over to Squall who was leaning against the far wall. "You don't think it's a good idea do you?" she asked, "You don't want me to go?"  
  
Squall looked to the ground "You do whatever you want. I'm not going to order you around"  
  
Rinoa sat silent for a moment, after hearing Squall's last comment. She decided to leave the conversation topic at hand, for she knew Squall didn't want to visit this victims wife, she could tell by the look in his eye. Deciding to change the subject she stood from her place at the end of the bed, and rummaged through her belongings to get a warmer coat.  
  
"You said you had been here before" she stated, pulling on her coat "Maybe you can show me around, it seems like a nice town"  
  
Squall looked at her for a moment, and then decided that he should take her offer. At least being outside would make a change from being stuck inside this small room for the rest of the night.  
  
The two made their way out of the hotel, and back into the freezing temperatures. The sky had darkened since they had first arrived; the sun was turning a darker shade of red as it lowered in the sky behind the mountains. She followed behind Squall quietly, observing the town around her. He was always so serious, she had noticed this the first few times they had met. The only time she had ever seen him smile, even though it was for a split second, was today at her own misfortunes. She couldn't help her lips curl up into a smile at the thought that crossed her mind.  
  
Squall walked intently along the streets of Trabia, he hadn't visited for a long time. The few times he had visited he had been alone, now he was here with someone he had only recently met. He could hear her footsteps a few paces behind him. Why had he agreed to come here with her? The reason he came before was because it was such a quiet town, and most people kept their distance. It had been a kind of quiet solitude, which he had discovered; he came when he wanted some time away from the busy Deling City.  
  
He was here with Rinoa, to see a wife of a victim. He didn't want Rinoa to come here and visit her, for he knew that it wouldn't bring any good. He didn't need to visit someone who had experienced the same death they were going to experience. His mind suddenly became plagued with the thoughts of the girl in his dreams. He had been there, seen her fallen body collapsed on the floor. He had already been through the experience of seeing someone close to him die because of these dreams. Whatever was behind the dreams, he knew he had to find out.  
  
He stopped in his tracks suddenly as he realised he could no longer hear Rinoa's footsteps behind him. He turned around, only to be greeted with a freezing sting arouse on his face suddenly, and the sound of laughter emerging. Wiping the snow off his face he turned to see Rinoa trying to look innocent as she tried to hide the smile on her lips. She looked up to see a not-so-amused Squall staring back at her. This caused her to lose control of herself as she burst out laughing.  
  
She put her hands up in defeat "Sorry Squall," she said still laughing "I couldn't help myself, it was an urge."

_Authors note: I was going to write them visiting Selphie, and then I got carried away developing the relationship between Squall and Rinoa. So you'll have to wait until I next update! Ha! I'm so evil, but I really don't want to rush things, because the story will start to quicken up its pace after this and I want this experience writing this story to last a little longer than it would. Seriously, I'm really enjoying writing this, and I'm not really bothered about how many reviews I get. After all, I'm writing this for myself, and not to see how many reviewers I can get, but that doesn't mean I don't want any reviews... :)_


	11. Icy Past

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
The darkness was thick, just as it was every other night. It taunted him, seeming to laugh at him, as he lay awake for hours at night. His eyes stared at the ceiling, this white blank ceiling above his head, as if it held some kind of answer. Nothing ever did make sense. He didn't want to sleep tonight, sharing a room with Rinoa and risking her witnessing him waking up in terror wasn't what he wanted. It had become disturbingly natural these past years to wake up with these horrifying feelings. When he was younger, he would wake up screaming for her. Not tonight. Even Squall Leonhart had his pride, just enough pride to not want Rinoa to see him at such a vulnerable state.  
  
He shifted on the sofa uncomfortably, the thought suddenly coming into his mind at why he didn't just get another room for himself, and maybe at the same time throttle that naïve receptionist. Yet he was here now, in pain on the uncomfortable sofa. Maybe if he closed his eyes for just a moment, it wouldn't matter. The dreams couldn't come that quickly. He opened his eyes and sat up from his lying position as he realised he was going to fall asleep. Standing up from the sofa he walked towards the window, running a hand through his hair. He really wished morning would soon come.  
  
Squall opened the curtain slightly, the moonlight from the outside streamed through the window revealing some of the dark room. Outside the window, he saw the various houses below in the small town, each lit up by the street lamps reflecting off the snow-covered ground making it glow a fiery colour. The scenery set out to him was tranquil; something to maybe keep his mind away from the thoughts of sleep.  
  
Looking up he saw the tall mountains stretching up towards the sky. Behind the mountains, the navy blue sky was filled with small dots of white glowing stars. He looked back into the dull room, yawning from the lack of sleep. He began pacing around the room for the scenery still didn't cease the tiredness. Squall stopped in his tracks as he heard Rinoa's muffled voice. Had he awoken her?  
  
Squall turned around to face her. No. She wasn't awake, he soon realised as he saw her body turning violently. She was having a dream. He stood and observed her silently, her breaths quickening as if in panic and fear. He stepped closer to her, hearing her pleas for mercy. Took a step even closer and knelt next to her bed. Cautiously he watched over her shaking form, and pushed back the loose strands of hair covering her face. His hand lingered on her face and for a moment he stayed frozen, before pulling away. He knew there was probably nothing he could do to help her; if he got any closer to her he would start to fear losing her. So he turned away from her, unable to witness her sleeping form. He wanted to walk away and act as if he didn't care, tell her it was her burden she would have to live with, and not his. Yet he couldn't, he couldn't pull himself away. She was a victim, a living victim and not an already dead face printed in a newspaper column.  
  
He turned his eyes back to hear the raven-haired girl in front of him call out in desperation at these strange dreams. Squall closed his eyes; he couldn't bear hearing the fear evident in her voice any longer, so he reached out to her again. He held her sleeping body in his arms, and tenderly stroked her forehead, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop the dream. So he stayed with her, held her close to him until her breathing finally calmed and her body ceased shaking. Then he held her longer, once she had returned back to her peaceful slumber.

* * *

"Squall?"  
  
A faint voice echoed through his mind. Was it a dream? His eyes felt so heavy, so tired. Squall turned over and tried to get back to sleep, suddenly remembering the many hours he had been awake for that night.  
  
"Wake up sleepy head"  
  
He could hear her soft voice calling out to him. Was that who he thought it was? Her voice was so gentle, it brought back the past. It couldn't be, for she was dead. He felt someone shake him lightly, he ignored it, for the little amount of sleep he had was peaceful. For the first time in a long time, he didn't have any bad dreams. Someone shook him a bit harder, once again he ignored it. Peaceful slumber, it felt so foreign. A sharp pain entered his head and his eyes opened wide. Squall turned to see Rinoa standing over him, with his book held in hand. It wasn't who he thought it was.  
  
He watched as she smiled when she saw he was awake and studied the book in her hands "I knew this book would come in useful for you one day," she said with a playful look in her eye. "Now get up, we need to go visit this Selphie person today"  
  
Sighing in defeat he began to get up, then stopped in his tracks as he realised what lack of clothing he was wearing. Only his black boxers were worn. Rinoa was stood over him for a moment before realising why he had stopped, before turning away embarrassed. He gathered his clothes before entering the bathroom to take a quick shower. The warm water poured down on his face, and he felt it soothe his tiredness and the aching muscles caused from sleeping on the sofa. Quickly getting dressed, he went back into the main part of the hotel room and began gathering his belonging before leaving the hotel with Rinoa.  
  
The frozen wind hit them both as they stepped outside the heated hotel. He watched as Rinoa shivered. "Any idea where you need to go to see her?" he asked.  
  
Rinoa turned to Squall and smiled "Actually I do," she said looking pleased with herself. "While you were sleeping, I asked the receptionist if she could give me directions to get there."  
  
Squall watched as Rinoa looked around her surroundings and began heading up one of the many paths surrounding them "This way," she called over her shoulder "It's not far from here."  
  
The two walked silently down the frozen paths and eventually Rinoa stopped in front of a row of houses. "It should be that house there," she said pointing to one of the buildings. She made her way to the front of the house, the grey wooden door stood in front of her, gathering snow at the top. To the left hand side of the door, there was a small button, which Rinoa assumed to be the doorbell. Taking in a deep breath and trying to ignore the growing tension inside of her, she pressed the doorbell hearing its buzz as she did. She turned over her shoulder to see Squall stood behind her before turning back towards the door when she heard a click of a lock and the door opened.  
  
A young woman looking in her early twenties emerged from behind the door. She starred at the two strangers standing outside the doorway with her emerald eyes. Her auburn hair made its way down to her shoulders and flicked out at the ends. Clutching the door with one hand she spoke, "Can I help?"  
  
Rinoa took a step forward getting nearer to the young woman "Selphie Kinneas?" The young woman looked at Rinoa for a moment, a knowing look in her eyes.  
  
"I'm not talking to any more journalists," she said taking a step back from the doorway "Please leave"  
  
"We're not journalists," Rinoa said, clearly seeing the distraught look on the woman's face. A thought crossed her mind that maybe she hadn't thought about this visit thoroughly enough, maybe Squall was right in thinking they shouldn't go. "Selphie, we just want to know what happened. Please?"  
  
Selphie paused for a moment and looked silently at the two unfamiliar individuals in front of her. She looked Rinoa in the eyes for a moment, and then opened the door wider to allow them both to step inside with a sigh. "Come in," she said quietly.  
  
Stepping inside the house they followed Selphie through to a small living room. "Take a seat," Selphie said gesturing towards the cream coloured sofa. "Can I ask your names?"  
  
"I'm Rinoa Heartilly," she said taking a seat, then looked over he shoulder "and this is Squall Leonhart." Rinoa watched as Squall nodded his head towards Selphie in greeting.  
  
"You must be cold, I'll make you some hot drinks" Selphie said before disappearing through the doorway and out into the hall. Once she left Rinoa took the opportunity to study the room. On the wall opposite a small fire burned, its embers crackled as they flew from the flames. Around the fire there was a vintage marble mantelpiece, which appeared bare as no items were placed upon its surface. To the right, a large window, like the one in the hotel, looked up to the snowy mountains. In the centre of the room there was a small oak coffee table. As Rinoa studied her surroundings she couldn't help but feel the room was very bare. There were no pictures or ornaments anywhere in the room.  
  
From the side of her Rinoa noticed that Squall sat silent. "Are you okay?" she asked. She looked to see Squall nodding. He looked slightly uncomfortable, but she knew that visiting a stranger wasn't something he would enjoy, so she chose to ignore it.  
  
A few minutes later Selphie came back in the room holding three mugs, and placed them on the coffee table. Rinoa watched as Selphie walked towards a far corner of the room where there was a drawer. She took out a photo frame and handed it to Rinoa. In the photo there was a picture of two people, one was Selphie and the other was a man with long hair. Both of them were smiling at the camera looking happy in each other's arms.  
  
"He was a great guy," she said with a small smile taking a seat on an armchair near the sofa. "Irvine liked to flirt a lot, but he promised me we would always be together. We had only been married a year when I started to notice things were going wrong."  
  
Selphie shifted in her seat uncomfortably and kept her attention to the ground, "Sometimes I wish I had noticed it sooner, maybe I could have done something to stop them coming for him, but we can't change the past, can we?"  
  
Rinoa listened intently at what she was saying, realising that maybe Selphie knew more than Rinoa had first thought. "Them?" she questioned.  
  
"I'm not sure what they are, or what they showed Irvine, but they did something to him. He would wake up so scared at night, I'd hear him yelling and crying in fear. It was so strange seeing him like that, he was usually so cool and calm. At first he ignored it, he told me not to worry and he was just having a bad dream, but it went on for so long. He was scared to go to sleep, he tried his hardest to stay awake all night just to avoid them."  
  
Rinoa looked at Selphie, she looked so sad, her voice sounded like she was going to break down in tears, yet she didn't. Her eyes looked so blank, so emotionless it was as if she was like some sort of robot recalling the facts. Rinoa suddenly felt guilty for coming here.  
  
"I saw him deteriorate from the happy flirty guy I fell in love with, to a terrified man. Right before they took him, he couldn't do anything. He didn't like to be left alone at any point in the day, especially at night. He was afraid of the dark at this point," she turned her head away from Rinoa and Squall "I only closed my eyes for a second, I was so tired I couldn't help it but I didn't want to fall asleep and I did. When I woke up he was dead. There was so much blood all over the bed and I felt so angry with myself. If I had stayed awake, then maybe they wouldn't have come for him. Maybe he would still be alive."  
  
Wiping away the tears that had finally managed to escape from her emotionless façade, she turned back to the two visitors. "The police told me that they think this could be some sort of serial killer, that there has been a pattern of similar killing for the last five hundred years. They think it is some sort of copy or ritual killing passed down through time, but they're wrong, and I think you know that too."  
  
Rinoa turned to Squall and then back to Selphie, who was looking at them both with a strange look in her eye "I'm right, aren't I?  
  
"We know that it's no human killer" Rinoa said feeling Squall's eyes on her, she ignored it and turned to Selphie, "We just don't know what it is or why"  
  
"They search through time for you, and when they come, they take everything away from you until the only thing left to do is scream out in fear," she said clutching the photograph of her husband tightly in her hands, and studied Squall for a moment "You doubted me knowing anything like this, didn't you? I've never told anyone this before, so I hope it helps."  
  
Rinoa gave Selphie a reassuring smile "It does help, and we're very grateful for you to trust us after turning up on your doorstep so unannounced like that."  
  
A slight smile crept on Selphie's lips as she looked sadly back at Rinoa "You have that look in your eye," she started "They're coming for you, aren't they? I can see that frightened look in your eyes. Irvine had that same look in his eyes when I started to realise something was wrong."  
  
She froze as she heard the words escape Selphie's lips. She knew they were coming for her. Was it that obvious? A sudden realisation came to Rinoa. She was going to die. The same things that happened to Irvine were going to happen to her. Rinoa looked back at Selphie with desperation.  
  
"Just make sure you don't leave her alone in the dark," Selphie said to Squall, "It's not all in a child's mind when they're afraid of the dark, sometimes there is really something out there."  
  
Squall nodded his head slowly "I won't," he said realising Rinoa's sudden silence. "I think we better go"  
  
The three stood up from their seats and walked to the doorway. Selphie stopped them, as they were about to leave "I know a reporter who could maybe help you. She wanted me to give her information on how Irvine died, but I don't trust journalists," she said handing them her card, "Here is her card, she only came a few days ago, so if you're lucky she might still be in town. She seeks information on these strange killings, travelled all the way from Esthar to visit me."  
  
"Thank you," said Rinoa quietly as she took the card.  
  
"Take care," Selphie said to the two are they exited the house and shut the door behind them.  
  
Once outside Rinoa and Squall walked back along the path quietly, she kept thinking over and over again what Selphie had said. This was real, it was really happening. She stopped in her tracks suddenly as the tears finally escaped her eyes. Squall looked over his shoulder as he saw her crying in the cold. It was beginning to snow. The pale flakes flowed elegantly down to the earth and surrounded them. He could hear her weeping as she stood still. The urges to comfort her were becoming too strong. He was already too close to her; this was something he was supposed to be doing alone. Cautiously he took a step closer to her.  
  
"This is really going to happen," she said through her tears, "We're going to die"  
  
Squall did the only thing his mind would allow him to do; he placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her close, letting her weep as the bitter air surrounded them.  
  
_Authors note: Yay... 11 chapters... all those months of planning are finally paying off. Thank you Dark Angels who gave me advice when writing this and also thank you to all who have reviewed. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I still managed to include at least a little bit of fluffy squinoa stuff in this chapter. Thank you!_


	12. Afraid Of The Dark

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
The sun lowered in the distance signalling it would soon be getting dark. The steady rhythm from the train was beginning to decrease as it neared the train station. The busy streets of Deling city were already in view, revealing the everyday sights that they were accustomed to in contrast to the beautiful white plains of Trabia. As the train came to a halt in the busy station Squall turned to face Rinoa. Her usual carefree look, now replaced with a serious and distant expression. Since they had started their journey back to Deling City, neither of the two had spoken more than a few words to each other. Usually the silence of people around him would be comforting, but not today. Seeing Rinoa so silent. So solemn. So unlike her usual self, he was worried.  
  
It was the first time he had seen her look so scared, when she had stepped out of Selphie's home. She had cried helplessly, and all he could do was try and give her a little comfort. Giving a little more of himself away, it wasn't right. He knew that it wasn't what he was supposed to do. Comfort her; let her rely on him to help her. How could he save her when he didn't even know how to save himself? Each day he felt it even harder to push her away and act the same serious person he had always been. Seeing that look in her eyes, that scared and helpless look as she cried, he couldn't push her away. He couldn't just ignore it and let her cry alone, no matter how much his head screamed at him not to do, he had tried to comfort her.  
  
The train came to a sharp halt as it reached its destination. The two gathered their belongings before exiting the train. Walking out of the train station in silence, Squall felt himself feeling uncomfortable. For the first time, he felt the need to speak. The needs to have her make a conversation. Maybe smile or laugh. Anything.  
  
As the exit of the train station came in view, dark rain clouds could be seen above in the sky. Small droplets began making their way towards the ground whilst a cold chill ran through the air. Rinoa watched as a few droplets fell down towards the ground leaving spots of damp everywhere, until it soon became heavier. She turned towards Squall, for the first time in the last few hours. His stormy blue eyes watching her.  
  
"I guess I better go home," she said quietly watching the sky in the distance.  
  
Squall nodded with slight relief to hear Rinoa speaking again. He was still worried though, as there remained an emptiness in her eyes. "Shall I walk you home?" he said before he could comprehend what he was saying. Don't get close. That's what he had always told himself but now he felt guilt overcoming him. He had introduced her to this world and this had caused her sadness. He could see her deteriorating condition as the dreams took a hold of her.  
  
She nodded with a half smile. "Thank you," she replied, accepting the offer. She watched as Squall began to walk then pause as he looked at the dark clouds above. The rain seemed to be growing in pace with every second.  
  
"I hope you don't mind getting wet," Squall said looking back to Rinoa, who hung close behind him.  
  
"Do I have a choice?"  
  
Squall gave a half smile as he saw Rinoa's hair dripping with water in the few moments that they had been outside. "Not really," he said. "Come on, I don't want to stay out here all night."  
  
He watched as he saw Rinoa still stood in the same spot, obviously not taking his hint that he didn't want to get drenched in the rain. Squall stood feeling a little confused as she was looking in his direction, a happier look on her face. "What?"  
  
"You should smile more often," she said softly before walking a quicker pace in the direction of her apartment, "It suits you."  
  
Squall frowned at her comment, inwardly feeling more content as she was being her usual self again. He then decided that he didn't want to spend any more time outdoors so hurried in the wake of Rinoa's footsteps. The two walked close together, keeping close to the buildings trying to shelter from some of the rain. Deling City had become unusually quiet in this downpour as people rushed to find refuge from the storm.  
  
They eventually reached Rinoa's apartment. By the time they arrived clothes and hair was drenched and the two stood outside the door of Rinoa's apartment. She looked at his at bangs of hair falling loosely over his eyes and smiled. "Thank you for coming with me Squall," she said slowly placing a hand on his arm. Beneath her hand she felt his arm tense up slightly, so with reluctance, decided best to pull away. "Do you want to come inside?" she said observing his features, "You're soaking wet, so it'll be warmer for you in here than going back out in the rain again"  
  
Squall contemplated accepting her offer for a moment before deciding it would be best to leave her alone, "Sorry," he said observing her disappointed features, "I've got to get back and sort something out."  
  
Rinoa nodded her head, "Okay then, I'll see you around" she said before entering her small apartment. Once inside she placed her bags down on the floor and collapsed on the sofa in exhaustion. Relaxing in the silence for a moment, feeling a little stiff from being sat on the train home for so long. She reluctantly got up from the sofa deciding to take a warm shower to try and relax her muscles.  
  
Inside the bathroom, she took off her clothes and stepped inside the warm shower. Feeling relieved as the lukewarm water flowed down her body. Letting out a small sigh she closed her eyes as the drowsiness swept over her. Stepping out of the shower, she took a towel wrapping it around herself and entered her room to get out a nightgown. Putting on the thin item of clothing she retreated to her bed. Looking around her room one last time, she switched off her light letting the darkness surround her, and laid her head against the pillow closing her eyes.  
  
_"They search through time for you, and when they come, they take everything away from you until the only thing left to do is scream out in fear"_  
  
Selphie's voice ran through her mind as the day's events came back to her. She opened her eyes, although it made no difference as her eyes still hadn't yet adjusted to the darkness. A slight chill ran down her spine as she recalled the words, at the same time trying to forget them. She just needed sleep right now, nothing else.  
  
_"I only closed my eyes for a second, I was so tired I couldn't help it but I didn't want to fall asleep and I did. When I woke up he was dead."_  
  
Sitting back up in her bed, she switched on the light and looked around the room, just like a small child did if they had had a bad dream. This is stupid, she told herself as she lay back down. Yet the feelings of not being the only person in this room lingered in her mind. Pushing the thoughts aside she switched off the light once more. Again, the darkness took over the room. Surrounding around her, almost as if watching over her. Frustrated with herself she closed her eyes and tried to think of something else.  
  
_"They're coming for you, aren't they? I can see that frightened look in your eyes. Irvine had that same look in his eyes when I started to realise something was wrong."_  
  
Wrapping her arms around herself she tried to fight the lump forming in her throat as the voices ran through her head. A small tear ran down her face. She was afraid. She was afraid of the dark. Sitting up once more she turned on the light and stood up as tears of frustration ran down her face. Putting her head in her hands she let out an exhausted whimper. Standing from the bed she quickly got dressed, not wanting to stay in her apartment any longer.  
  
Quickly, she ran down the streets of Deling City following the same route she took when she had been to Squall's apartment before. The streets were now mainly deserted as all the shops were closed, as it was late at night. Rinoa rushed towards the direction of Squall's home as fast as she could, she didn't want to be alone, not tonight. Once outside his door she knocked loudly, hoping that he would be home. She waited for a few moments to get no response. Again, she knocked on his door, this time louder. The tears from earlier were still escaping from her eyes, making a trail down towards her neck. The sound of a lock being turned was heard before the door opened. She looked back at a tired looking Squall in relief.  
  
"I'm sorry Squall," she said through her tears, "I just don't wanna be alone tonight. I can't. I'm too afraid to turn off the light."  
  
Squall watched as the raven-haired girl stood on his doorstep looking like she was breaking down. He watched her in pity before opening his door wider for her to come inside. "Don't worry about it," he said slowly as she stepped inside and stood silent for a moment before a thought came to his mind. "It's because of what Selphie said, isn't it?" the words left his lips as he watched her look to the ground, "Don't let what she said scare you, you already knew what was to come anyway."  
  
He cringed inside as he realised how cold his last statement sounded. "You tried Rinoa," he said softer, "she gave you a few more pieces to the puzzle, maybe you'll be able to find a way to stop them in the end."  
  
Rinoa looked up at him for a moment ignoring his harsh comment, she was actually a little shocked to hear him giving her comforting words. "You didn't even want me to go anyway," she responded walking further into the living room and observing the many newspaper articles spread out over the coffee table. She couldn't help noticing how it looked a lot messier than the last time she had seen it.  
  
"I never said that. It's just I wouldn't have gone myself, but you were willing to go and find out more than a newspaper could do"  
  
She gave a small smile, wiping the wetness of her tears from her face and watched as he sat down on the sofa. Rinoa stood for a moment feeling unsure, and then decided to join him on the sofa. She fiddled with her hands nervously, a habit she had formed over the years, before turning to face Squall's deep blue eyes. "Visiting her didn't do me any good though did it?" she said sadly. "It made everything so much more real. Before I could just ignore it or think of you whenever I was scared," she turned away from him realising what she was saying "Before... I guess I really thought that it wouldn't happen. I thought you would be able to help me, but you can't. It's just going to get worse until they finally come and finish it."  
  
From the side of her she heard a sigh escape Squall's lips, "Maybe I can't help you, but you can help yourself," he paused as Rinoa turned to face him once more, he was visibly looking uncomfortable. Cheering people up defiantly wasn't something he did regularly. "You already went out and visited Selphie, what's to stop you doing it again? Maybe you should try visiting that journalist she spoke about, but be careful what you say. I don't trust journalists."  
  
Rinoa smiled hearing his words, she hadn't thought about the journalist Selphie had talked about before she gave them her card. "Thank you Squall," she said resisting the urge to touch him from his earlier reaction. She let out a relieved sigh feeling a little better with herself.  
  
Looking at the various articles on the coffee table she noticed an old looking piece of paper laid flat. She studied it for a moment; on it there were various drawings. Five cloaked figures were sketched on the piece of paper. Taking it in her hands she looked at it closer, two of the drawings looked familiar. One was the figure that had always haunted her dreams. In the drawing he was holding the same sword he always carried when he came after Rinoa. Beside him was that mysterious woman she had started to see, her eyes looking a frightening as they did in her dreams. The other three figures she didn't recognise. To the left hand side of the page she saw a familiar sight. There was a drawing of that mourning symbol that was engraved in the figures fiery sword.  
  
Rinoa looked at Squall, suddenly seeing him shift in his seat and walk to the other side of the room, his back turned to her as he looked out the small window down on the city. "Is this what you see in your dreams?" she asked, looking in Squall's direction, "I've only ever seen two, but to see five...?"  
  
Squall turned to her suddenly, "I've only ever seen the symbol, nothing more." He looked at her as if contemplating for a moment then turned his back to her once more.  
  
Rinoa looked at Squall in confusion "Why did you draw it then?"  
  
"It's not my drawing."  
  
The answer was short, but it was clear enough which brought more confusion to her. Whose drawing was it if it wasn't his? Rinoa looked back onto the coffee table where the paper had been laid previously. There was an article from a newspaper on the table. The same article she had tried to look at before, on top of the article was a picture of a girl. It was the article written on the girl Squall had refused to tell her about. Ellone's photograph and the drawings had been on top of her article.  
  
"Ellone..." she said quietly in suspicion. She watched as Squall tensed up as her name was said, Rinoa was right. "How did you get this from her?"  
  
"Does it really matter?" Squall said harshly turning to face her, "I just have it."  
  
She couldn't help but cringe hearing his sharp tone of voice. Another realisation hit her as she looked down at the article; it was on a murder victim. "You knew her...?" she asked looking back up to Squall. He turned his cruel eyes away from her, but didn't answer her question.  
  
Cautiously, she picked up the old and worn looking article in her hands and studied it for a moment, before reading. Something still didn't make sense to her, and a strange sensation was telling her that this article would be an answer.  
  
_In the early hours of yesterday morning a young woman was found stabbed to death at her home in Winhill. Ellone Loire, aged 16, was found with a deep stab wound when her father arrived home later that night.  
  
Ellone had been babysitting her younger brother that night, who was found unconscious in a cupboard in his room, presumably hiding from the killer. He has now been taken to hospital where he is recovering from shock.  
  
Police have been called in, and they believe that this boy may have witnessed this brutal murder. Strangely, police have so far found no forensic evidence that could lead to the identity of the killers.  
  
Investigators tried talking to the young boy but no further information has been given out to this mysterious murder. The young boy is suffering from shock as he was also attacked in the vicious murder. The young boy has been recovering in hospital from a deep cut between his eyes, most probably from the murderer of his older sister. Police are still continuing to investigate the scene.  
_  
Rinoa suddenly felt guilt grow inside of her as she looked at the man in front of her. She studied the scar that ran between his eyes, and felt sympathy for him. "Your sister?"  
  
"It was a long time ago," he said turning back to her briefly.  
  
She sat silently, feeling unsure of what to do or say next. A memory suddenly came back to her mind, and she found herself feeling mystified by what was happening.  
  
_So much blood. It just seemed to pour out of her. Her hands were shaking and she felt weak. Her knees gave way and she crashed to the floor. Alone. Was this what it was like to die? Her eyes felt heavy and she struggled to keep them open. As her vision blurred she saw a door opened and she saw a small boy run towards her. He screamed out but she couldn't hear him. A hand grabbed the boy and spun him away. Maybe she was wrong in thinking that she was alone. The same man from before stood barely visible in the shadows. The small boy twisted from the man's grip and ran to help her. The man quickly launched after him and once again grabbed him. This time he raised the blade and sliced it across his face. She saw blood pouring from his face and heard his scream. Poor boy. Her eyes slowly shut and everything turned to darkness.  
_  
"I think... I was there," she started, thinking back to that fateful night. The night when the dreams began. She found herself looking at the floor as she felt Squall's gaze on her. "The night I ran into you, at the hotel. I'd been playing the piano in memory of my mother. That was when I had my first dream."  
  
"I don't know how to explain it. One minute I was playing the piano, and the next, I was in a graveyard. It was horrible; I was watching my mother's funeral... I saw myself. I'd always been afraid to visit my mother's grave before, but I had been there again that night. I saw a strange-cloaked man stood there. He didn't move at first, but then he came right up to me. He stabbed me with his sword, but as soon as he stabbed me, I was somewhere else. Someone else. I don't know, I was in some kind of house and I was bleeding. It hurt so much."  
  
Rinoa struggled to retell the memories of that fateful night again as the tears were threatening to fall. Taking in a deep breath, she continued. "I was on the floor, thinking I was going to die all alone. Then I saw a young boy running towards me, but he was stopped. Cut across the face with a sword from the same person who was in my dreams. I think I was somehow there, Squall. I saw it happen."  
  
She watched as Squall walked towards her, a distant look in his eyes. "I don't remember what happened," he admitted quietly. "It replays in my dreams every night, but I can't see properly. I feel something behind me as I see her body, but I never see what it is. I only see the symbol. I can't remember..."  
  
Rinoa looked up to see the desperate and confused look in his eyes, an emotion she had never seen him show before. Watching his features she couldn't help but pity him. His sister had died. Suddenly it made sense why he researched for so long. She stood from her sat position and walked towards him. Slowly she wrapped her arms around his tense waist, in an attempt to make everything better.  
  
_Authors Note: Wow, after twelve chapters this is the first authors note I get to leave. I'm so proud. Well, once again I want to thank Dark Angels for reviewing. I also have dreadful news...this story may not be updated for 2 weeks! We're going to try and write another chapter this week to make up for it, but don't blame us for leaving you in suspense. Please review, it will make our days and give us the encouragement to get another chapter written quickly. Thanks!_


	13. Eye Of Faith

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
The blinding light streamed into the room, straining his eyes as he opened them. Groggily he sat up from his bed and yawned. He hadn't got much sleep last night since Rinoa had come around, but for that he was grateful in a way, it stopped the dreams lasting all night and his attempts to stay awake were spent with someone else to concentrate on. She had come to his home last night, crying and scared. He couldn't just throw her out could he? A sudden thought entered his mind, now she knew everything about him that he didn't want her to know. She read the article, worked out that Ellone was his sister. He could have denied it, made her believe that he didn't know about this girl. The girl was his sister, the only family he cared about. The biggest secret he kept, now known. What made it worse was that he admitted the dreams. Spoke about the past. He hated himself for telling Rinoa about it, yet at the same time felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Inside, a part of him had been yearning to have someone to tell his past to for so long. Someone to tell whom he knew wouldn't judge him. Yet at the same time he was angry with himself. He hadn't even known Rinoa that long. What if she betrayed him?  
  
A feeling of hatred ran through his veins as the thought entered his mind. What if she blamed him, threw him away when he was weak and vulnerable? Just like his father did. Took him to an orphanage far away, the only memories he had of his sister was one photograph and the drawings he had stolen from her room before he was sent away. He hated his father for that; at the time he was only eight years old. His father had a breakdown; he couldn't even look Squall in the eyes as he saw him the last time before he was taken to the Orphanage. Laguna Loire. He was only supposed to have a small break, the orphanage was only supposed to be temporary. But he never came back.  
  
The sound of someone's breathing behind him caught his attention. He turned around as the thoughts of last night came back to him. Squall had offered to take her back home, but when he mentioned it she seemed to get scared again. She pleaded him not to leave her alone. He couldn't help but stay with her like she asked him to, the terrified look in her eye was too much for him. He let her stay the night; let her sleep in his bed. And when he was going to walk away to sleep on the sofa she pulled him back. Wanted him to watch over her, at least until she fell asleep.  
  
The thoughts came back to him again, those thoughts that were changing him, twisting his mind. Making him help her. Once she was asleep, he couldn't leave her. Couldn't pull himself away, as if he was frozen in that position. He watched her sleep peacefully at first, and then when the dreams came, it was just like in Trabia. He had held her, like she had held him when she found out about Ellone. He had held her trying to make the fear go away. He was going to leave as soon as she settled down, but as soon as she settled down he found himself relaxing next to her. So he fell asleep.  
  
Looking down on her fragile sleeping form now, he suddenly felt the need to quietly slip away. So she would never know that he cared for her so much. Rinoa should never know his weakness around her. Standing up from the bed he made his way to the door.  
  
"Squall...?"  
  
_Crap_. He turned around to see her sleepy form looking up at him from the bed which she lay in. Her hair fell loosely on the pillow as she turned her head to the side with a smile on her face as she studied him closely. Squall looked around the room quickly trying to think of a reasonable excuse at why he would be in the room.  
  
"Sorry, did I wake you?" he said, feeling like an idiot. "I just needed to get something."  
  
He watched as Rinoa giggled, obviously finding some humour in his current situation. Feeling uncomfortable at her watching him, he made his way towards the door, hoping Rinoa would accept his excuse.  
  
"Aren't you going to get this 'something' you came in here for then?"  
  
Squall stopped in his tracks thinking for a moment, he needed another excuse quickly. Looking down at his watch he turned back to her. "I... just got my watch while you were asleep." Grabbling the door handle he quickly made his way out the door and away from her, hoping that maybe she didn't think he was some sort of stalker.  
  
Making his way through the main room of his apartment he let a relieved sigh escape his lips. He looked down at a picture of Ellone on the coffee table. Picking it up in his hands he studied the photograph, her smiling face gazing back at him. Putting it back down on the messy pile, he began tidying up all of the articles he had collected.  
  
The click of his bedroom door opening made him turn to face Rinoa. "I guess I better get back soon," she said softly "I promised Amy I'd help her out in the library this morning and I need a shower."  
  
He watched as she spoke with a smile. The actions were so simple, yet it amazed him how she could change so quickly. He knew that all the dreams were starting to scare her, but she always managed to act as though nothing bothered her. Something that he could never do.  
  
"Thank you again, Squall. I know it must be a pain having to put up with me turning up and expecting things from you all the time," she said sadly as she stepped closer to him, "You're the only one who I feel safe with."  
  
She watched as he turned to her, a look of understanding in his eyes. He wouldn't say anything, nor did she expect an answer. "I'll see you later," she said before leaving his apartment, a new feeling of security inside her.

* * *

The library was quiet as usual. It was a place Rinoa liked to help out at when she had nothing better to do, usually to keep Amy company when it wasn't busy. Placing a few books on the shelves in the small library she turned around when she heard a familiar loud voice. She saw Zell energetically embracing Amy as soon as he walked through the entrance.  
  
Rinoa walked up to them. "Hi," she beamed.  
  
Zell turned to her. "Rinoa," he enthusiastically yelled, before gripping her tightly in a hug. "How have you been?"  
  
"I'm okay," Rinoa said hoping that Zell would let her out of his deathly grip sometime soon.  
  
She sighed in relief as he finally let go and took a step back. "I hear you've been in Trabia with Squall," he winked.  
  
Rinoa nodded, then suddenly felt the lava rise to her cheeks as she saw Zell's reaction. "Not like that," she replied giving him a playful hit on the arm, "It was a trip as friends," she said not wanting to give the real reason. In truth she didn't want to think about her visit to Trabia anymore. It was something that scared her just thinking about it. Hearing those words come out of Selphie's mouth, seeing her face. It was something that sent a chill down her spine.  
  
She quietly left the happy couple, and continued to put the books back on various shelves as she felt those words cut deep inside her again. Not now, she had a new plan to help Squall and herself figure this out together. Maybe after today they would have more clues. There could be a stop to all this.  
  
A man sat silently at a table reading through some books. She took a few steps closer realising it was Squall. "You crept in here quietly," she said standing next to the table.  
  
"You were talking to your friends," he stated seriously.  
  
Smiling slightly she took a seat next to him, "I've got some good news for you," she said "You remember that journalist Selphie was talking about? I phoned her up this morning. Her name's Quistis Trepe and I think she can help us."  
  
Squall looked at her for a moment. Taking note that he was concentrating on her instead of his books she continued. "She said she'd get the first train here. Squall she'll be here in the afternoon to help us."  
  
"What did you say to her to make her come here so urgently?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
Rinoa looked away from Squall for a moment, she knew he would probably think it was a stupid idea. "I told her I have the dreams and that I'm probably going to be next," she didn't even need to see the look Squall was giving her. She could feel it, like it was burning two holes in the side of her head. "It's a risk I'm willing to take for more information. We made a deal. I tell her everything that's happened to me, and she'll give me all her information. I think she knows more than us, Squall. It can help you find out what really happened to your sister."  
  
Daring herself to look back up, she was met with his angry gaze. "Did you tell her about me?" he asked, his voice deadly cold.  
  
"No," she said shaking her head. "I don't want you involved in this. She agreed to keep my name confidential in her work, so this is my risk. I'll see you after she's gone to tell you everything she has told me."  
  
His stare softened slightly at the words that he wasn't getting involved but he was still concerned about all of this. This journalist could easily lie and anything could happen to Rinoa. He was worried. Squall looked at Rinoa in silence for a moment before speaking again. "Let me come with you."  
  
She looked back at him, slightly startled by his sudden decision. "I thought you would have wanted to stay out of this, which is why I didn't get you involved."  
  
"I don't trust journalists," he said turning back to his books, "and I don't want you saying too much to her."  
  
Rinoa looked at him disappointed. Did he really not trust her? Sighing to herself she decided that she would feel more comfortable with Squall there anyway. "Okay, meet me at the train station at three o' clock."

* * *

The squeaking halt of a train coming to a stop echoed throughout the train station. A moment later, the hiss of the train doors opened, and passengers poured out. Among the many passengers a blonde haired woman with icy blue eyes scanned the platform. Rinoa studied the blonde woman for a moment, noticing no other passengers seemed to be looking for anyone, so decided to approach her.  
  
"Quistis Trepe?" she asked approaching the woman cautiously. Her long blonde hair was held back neatly in a clip, with only the two strands falling loosely at the front. She wore a black skirt and jacket with a white blouse underneath.  
  
Quistis turned to the direction of the voice to be greeted by a raven- haired woman. "You must be Rinoa," she said holding her hand out politely and Rinoa shook her hand. "Thank you for getting in touch with me," she said, examining Rinoa.  
  
Looking over the raven-haired girls shoulder she studied a man standing closely behind her, a grave look in his eye. "A friend of yours?" she asked turning back to Rinoa.  
  
Rinoa glanced quickly behind her shoulder, "Yeah," she stated, "This is Squall."  
  
Politely Quistis held her hand out for Squall to shake, but was rudely presented with a cold look. "You're here to talk to Rinoa and give us some more information then?"  
  
"Ah yes," she said ignoring his cold looks, "Is there anywhere more comfortable to go than standing in the train station to talk?"  
  
Rinoa nodded and gestured for Quistis to follow her, giving Squall an angry glare noticing how impolite he was being. Briskly, the three made their way towards Rinoa's apartment. The journey didn't usually seem that long, but today however, it seemed a lot longer than usual. Rinoa came to the conclusion that it was probably due to nerves of having Quistis visiting her. Also it didn't help with the awkward silence roaming.  
  
Relief spread through her senses as she approached her apartment and opened her door wide to let the two guests inside. Quistis sat on an armchair, leaving Rinoa and Squall to sit on the sofa together. She watched as Quistis took out a small notebook and pen out of her expensive looking leather handbag. "It's alright if I make notes for research purposes isn't it?" she asked politely as she saw the two watching her.  
  
"Of course," Rinoa replied, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.  
  
"I suppose I better tell you a bit more about myself," Quistis spoke "I guess it sounds strange to you at why I would be so interested in all this."  
  
"About two years ago when I first became a journalist, the police wanted some help in an investigation they were running. I was in Balamb at the time, so the police force wasn't very big. They thought they had a serial killer on the loose, so they asked me to write an article in a local newspaper giving details on the deaths, in hopes that people would get in contact and help them with the investigation. At the time I didn't think much of it, after all it was one of my first jobs so I just did what I was told."  
  
"It was when I was told more background information on the investigation that I realised how strange it was. They think that it's a copy of ritual killing. There's been so many of the same deaths over the last five hundred years, there are probably many more they still don't know about. Sometimes I would be told to go and visit the family and friends of those who had died, then write an article on them. They would show me things, diaries, drawings and so on. They told me about the dreams these people had before they were killed. It was so strange that they should all have similar experiences, almost as if the killer wasn't human."  
  
She smiled at them knowingly, "So I've begun my own little investigation. I've moved up from Balamb and I want to reveal the truth about what is happening to these people. I believe that citizens should be able to know the truth instead of thinking that it's some serial killer."  
  
"So you visit a lot of these victims then?" Rinoa asked.  
  
Quistis nodded her head, "The last person I visited was Selphie, but I guess you already know that. I've always wanted to be able to speak to someone who is having these dreams. Maybe see if I can find out what makes it happen," she studied Rinoa a moment before speaking again "Anyway, enough about me. You're brave for coming to me; I know it must be hard for you. I assume you have these dreams?"  
  
Rinoa nodded her head slowly, "Every night."  
  
"What do you dream about?"  
  
"The first time I had a dream, there was this strange looking person. I assume he was a man; it's hard to tell. He's got a hooded cloak on, so I can't see his face. He carries this short sword with him, which he stabs me with every night, but I always wake up just as he does it. It's got a strange symbol on... like some sort of eye."  
  
Quistis made a few notes in her notebook, then looked back up to Rinoa, "Do you see anyone else there?"  
  
"Just recently there's been a woman there. She has bright blue eyes with no pupils... she always looks at me, a strange look in her eyes. It scares me. Then she points to me, and the man runs to stab me with his sword."  
  
"Anything else? Like anymore people around, or a scenery you know?"  
  
Rinoa crossed her arms over her chest and looked towards the ground, "I'm in a cemetery. It was where my mother was buried. When it starts, I'm looking down at my mother's grave. It's like... watching her funeral all over again." She stopped for a moment to face Quistis, "Sorry, that's all I can really tell you."  
  
"That's fine," she said with a reassuring smile. "Is there anything you want to know from me? Like the symbol for example?"  
  
"You know more about the symbol?" Rinoa asked, feeling that maybe she had made the right decision in getting in contact with this journalist. She obviously knew a lot more information than they did.  
  
"The symbol is similar to an ancient icon know as the 'Eye Of Faith'. About a thousand years ago it was a symbol given to those of bravery. Mainly warriors would be given this privilege when they proved themselves strong enough to which people thought Hyne had blessed them. These people were known as Holy Warriors, and once they had achieved this, they would get an 'Eye Of Faith' symbol engraved in their weapons to show others that they could protect them."  
  
"Although, I haven't been able to prove that this is the symbol on the weapon used, as the symbol that's been presented to me so many times is slightly different. Where the 'Eye Of Faith' is simply and eye with a cross inside, this other symbol had a tear underneath and various patterns behind the cross. I've spoken to experts about the symbol and there's still a debate on it. Some believe that behind the cross it could represent a serpent, whereas others believe that it represents the smoke of evil."  
  
"So it's like an evil version of the 'Eye Of Faith' then?" Squall said in thought.  
  
"I guess that's one way of putting it," Quistis said. "I have a notion for you, Rinoa. I'd like you to take time to think about this for me, as I know you may not want to participate. I'd like to perform hypnotherapy on you, put you in a dreamlike state in better terms."  
  
"No," Squall said callously. He didn't like where this conversation was leading.  
  
"That was why I asked her to think about it before giving a definite answer," Quistis stated "I know it must sound cruel of me to want to do this, but I believe this will give us the opportunity to examine the dreams further and discover a reason behind them, maybe even stop them. During the dreamlike state I would like to monitor your heart and brain activity. It's perfectly safe, and if it gets too bad we'll be able to take you out of your dreams. I know people personally who can do this, so I assure you, you'll be in safe hands."  
  
Rinoa sat quietly unsure of what to say. Did she really want to go this far? "I...-"  
  
"Don't answer just yet," Quistis said cutting her off "Think about it for me."  
  
Squall watched as Quistis stood from her seat and gathered her belongings. "You have my number if you want to get back to me," she said giving Rinoa a comforting smile. "I'll let myself out."  
  
Silence passed between the two until the door had firmly shut. Rinoa thought for a moment before turning to Squall, who still sat beside her.  
  
"I don't trust her," he stated coldly.  
  
_Authors note: Oh the suspense, eh? Okay, maybe we lied when we said this would be the last update for two weeks. Seriously now, this will be the last update for two weeks! So there you have it, hopefully a lot had been explained in these last two chapters. You finally know who it was in the first chapter (hopefully), it was Ellone! Now you know more about the symbol. Whoop! Only a few more chapters left, and things should be getting a lot more exciting! Please review! I updated super fast especially for all who read this... which appears to be only Dark Angels. Yes, you're getting thanked again! Thank you! (Alas, we have chapter titles!)_


	14. Dreaming A Reality

Hunted By The Shadows  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
In one moment, it changed everything. Before he was alone, fighting his inner demons along with the mysterious shadows that seemed to have been cast over his life ever since he was a child. It took one glance at a sketch for him to get this far, and he never truly thought he would. He supposed he would fall in the end; they would come for him eventually. The thought that if he died trying had always eased his mind, at least a little bit. A simple sketch had been the catalyst of the thoughts, which allowed him to confront Rinoa. Let her be a part of this. A fragment of him still questioned whether is was the right thing to do. Maybe if he had left her in the dark, ignored his thoughts to begin with. Never even went to the ball. How different would things be now?   
  
The moment he saw her stood in his doorway he knew what it was about. Deep down, he knew that Rinoa would eventually push aside the dangers involved in this... hypnosis, or whatever it was. She was willing to take risks, even if it meant revealing what had been happening to her. What she dreams about. Squall sighed as he heard the words leave her lips. Not this time, he wouldn't let her do it to herself.   
  
"I've been thinking about what Quistis said the other day," she said looking up at Squall with pleading eyes, hoping he'll understand. "If I don't do it, then we're not going to know anymore are we?"  
  
"Not at the moment, no" Squall replied "but I'll find a way."  
  
She had hardly been able to concentrate on anything recently, her mind had always been wondering back to the conversations with Quistis. What if she did the hypnotherapy? Maybe she could get answers and stop what was happening to them both. What if she didn't do it? She'd be left searching in the dark. How was one supposed to find answers to a situation such as this?   
  
"Even if you do find a way, how long will it take?" she could see that look in his face, he knew where this was leading. "I don't really like this anymore than you do, but we might not have enough time before it happens to us."  
  
Squall knew that, and as much as he told himself otherwise, he really didn't want it to come down to that. He didn't want to risk Rinoa's life, yet he didn't want to put it in danger either. The current subject was starting to irritate him; he wasn't going to do this. "What makes you think that this will help? She's just doing it to get a good story and a pay rise, she doesn't care about you or anyone else."  
  
Hearing Squall's harsh voice was like stabbing knives into her. She tried to ignore the anger that was rising in them both. It's the right thing to do, she told herself. "I'm sorry Squall but I'm going to do this."  
  
"No Rinoa," his voice was rising by every word. "I'm not going to let you do this."   
  
"You really don't understand do you?" she spat back "I don't care what kind of grudge you have against journalists or what you don't want me to do, but can't you see I'm desperate here? I can't keep continuing with my life as if nothing is happening while waiting for some... whatever they are, to come kill me!"  
  
He stood silently watching her, a little surprised by her sudden outburst. He was hurting her again; he could see it in her moist eyes.   
  
"I'm tired Squall. I can't remember the last time I slept properly, and I'm scared" she said quietly, looking away from him "I know you don't want me to go, and I may not even be thinking straight at the moment, but I do want to go."  
  
"I just don't want you to get hurt," Squall muttered under his breath taking a step away from her. "Have you got in touch with Quistis?"  
  
Rinoa shook her head, "I was thinking," she started "maybe she'd be desperate enough to do the hypnosis my way."  
  
Squall looked at Rinoa confused, so she decided it was best to continue, no matter how stupid she sounded. "I know a psychiatrist, called Alison Beck. She's working with my father and me at the moment, trying to sort out our relationship problems, but I spoke to her the other day, just out of interest and she said she is qualified to do hypnotherapy. I don't like the idea of strangers hacking into my mind either, so I thought that maybe Alison could do it for me."  
  
"She's agreed to do it?" he asked, realising that Rinoa had obviously considered this a lot more than he first thought.   
  
"I haven't asked her yet, and doubt she would if I asked her, but maybe she would consider if Quistis spoke to her." Rinoa smiled slightly, "Now do I have permission from Master Leonhart?"   
  
Ignoring her playful tone he thought for a moment, "If you really trust that she'll take charge of the hypnotherapy and not Quistis... then I suppose."  
  
Smiling at her victory she looked at Squall, "Thank you... for just being there," she said turning her attention to her feet, "I'd like you to be there as well, I know I'll feel safer with you there, making sure nothing goes wrong. Promise me you'll be there, even if you don't like it."   
  
Nodding his head slightly, Squall watched Rinoa attentively. She looked so vulnerable, yet he knew that she knew exactly what she was doing. "I'll be there."

* * *

"It's just around this corner," Rinoa said leading Squall in the direction of her psychiatrist's office. Quistis had seemed quite happy to do the hypnosis with Alison; she had even said that she would explain everything to Alison before hand. They had arranged to do it the following evening, as it would be quieter around Alison's office. Rinoa had understood that Quistis had to pay Alison to do this, as it was an off record appointment, she just hoped that it wouldn't change her judgement as to how long she would be subdued to live her dreams, by her own choice this time.   
  
Knocking on the wooden oak door, the middle-aged woman studied the two stood outside her small office before letting them in. "Quistis is just setting up some equipment, which will be attached to you to monitor your heart and brain waves during this process."  
  
Rinoa looked around the room feeling a little anxious, but felt slightly comforted being with a doctor she trusted as she gave her a comforting smile. Alison seemed a little nervous herself, glancing over at Quistis every so often. "There's no good evidence that what you're saying is true," she said to Quistis.   
  
"That's what we're here to prove, Dr Beck," Quistis responded before turning to Rinoa. "Would you like to sit down here, and we'll get this over and done with."  
  
Turning around to face Squall briefly she walked towards Quistis and sat on the black leather sofa. Taking in a deep breath she allowed Quistis to attach the several circular pads to her head and at the top of her chest.   
  
"Are you sure this is what you want Rinoa?" Alison asked compassionately.  
  
"I'm sure she's had enough time to think about this, we better not drag this out any longer than necessary," Quistis interrupted before Rinoa could speak.  
  
"Well Rinoa's my patient, so it's my duty to make sure she's comfortable with everything that's happening," turning her head towards Rinoa, she saw the young woman respond with a nod, signalling that everything was alright.   
  
"You can wait outside if you want, Squall" Quistis stated studying the quiet man stood by the doorway, "It may be a little boring."  
  
"I'm staying," he said simply, turning his gaze to Rinoa. He made her a promise to stay by her side even if he didn't like what was going on, and he was going to stick to that promise. Squall couldn't help noticing the tension between Alison and Quistis; he really hoped that this wouldn't lead to putting Rinoa in danger.   
  
Taking his place leaned against a wall, he watched as Alison let Rinoa lie on the sofa and began the hypnosis process, although he wasn't really listening to what was being said. He was taken aback by the amount of equipment Quistis had brought along. A pin vibrated against a white sheet making blue marks as it travelled; in the far corner there was a screen monitoring her heart.  
  
"Okay Rinoa, now close your eyes for me and picture a place where you feel safe. I want you to imagine that you're standing in this safe place..."  
  
Alison was sat next to the sofa, which Rinoa lay on, a video camera focussed on her head. Recording the whole process. Squall glanced around the room with a bad feeling building in the bottom of his stomach; she was being treated like some sort of lab rat. Quistis didn't care about Rinoa, she just wanted a result, he observed as she sat quietly deep in concentration, while watching what was happening. It made him feel sick.   
  
"Now imagine a doorway in your safe place, behind the doorway leads you to your dreams. I want you to walk towards the door and grab the handle to that door. Have you grabbed it? ...Good... now take a deep breath and when I say, you'll open the doorway that will lead you into these dreams. Okay... open the door and take a step inside... take another step closer until you are at the beginning of your dream."   
  
_A cool wind blew past her face, leaving a slight chill running along Rinoa's body, as she stood surrounded by green. In front of her stood a gravestone. Julia Heartilly was engraved in the stone. She watched as she saw a crowd of people stood looking down on the grave, a coffin, beautifully decorated with flowers was being lowered into the ground.   
_  
"What can you see Rinoa?"  
  
_She heard a few whimpers from the people surrounding the grave, obviously missing this woman, who they were paying their respects to as much as herself. Her mother. She stood frozen watching the scene unfold before her eyes. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, it was like a never-ending torture she was forced to watch.  
_  
"My mothers funeral... there are people crying..."  
  
_It wasn't until the coffin was lowered out of sight, that she was able to finally take her eyes away from the hole in the ground. She sensed someone beside her.   
_  
"Is there anything else you can see?"  
  
_The woman had a black cloak draped over her body, only revealing her eyes. Those cold, pale blue eyes. There was something different about her... something she hadn't seen before. A crystal liquid was visible on her only showing flesh.   
_  
"She's crying..."  
  
_Her unearthly eyes looked up at Rinoa remorsefully, before turning her gaze up to the skies. Where there was once a funeral, had now seemed to have just disappeared, leaving only the green grass being tormented and pushed by the wind.   
_  
"Who is?"  
  
"... I don't know her name..."  
  
"You've seen her before though?"  
  
_Rinoa watched as the icy woman continued to stare at the beautiful blue sky. How ironic that such a place was her nightmare. She felt cold; the hairs on the back of her neck were starting to stand on end as she helplessly watched this strange woman._   
  
_"My dear Ifrit, sacrifice this soul for our eternal peace."  
_  
_Bewildered, Rinoa did the only thing she could do. Wait in silence, like always. However, she had never heard them speak in her dreams. Everything was silent, until now.   
_  
"She spoke..."   
  
"What did she say?"   
  
"I think... she's waiting for someone..."  
  
_Another loan cloaked figure entered into the scene. She couldn't see any of his features, yet she knew who it was, and what was soon to come. The woman turned to see the figure as he stood beside her and placed a hand tenderly on her face. For a moment, everything was tranquil. Her dreams seemed to be changing again; he stood with the woman for a moment, before the dreaded scene happened. She pointed at Rinoa.   
_  
_"It's the only way, Ifrit."_  
  
"There's a man with her now... and she's pointing at me..."  
  
"Do you know who this man is, or is he another visitor in your dreams?"  
  
"I think she said his name was... Ifrit."  
  
_Turning away from the woman, he looked over his shoulder in the direction of Rinoa. A cool chill ran down her spine, and this time it wasn't from the cold. Holding out one arm, a fireball emerged from his hand, forming into the shape of the sword. She saw the sun glistening off the metal, enhancing the symbol carved in it._  
  
"What are they doing?"  
  
"He's got his sword out... it's what he stabs me with..."   
  
_Taking a step closer to her, he gripped the blade tightly with both hands. Rinoa's breath suddenly quickened as the fear took over, it happened to her so often, but it never made it any easier to go through this scene. It was the most terrifying thing she had to live through each night._   
  
The world around him seemed to disappear, and he watched on in sorrow, hearing the words escape past her lips. She looked as though she was sleeping; yet her state of mind was obviously still awake. He never realised what she went through. Squall looked on feeling helpless as he heard her breaths quickening, her head jolted from side to side vigorously in an attempt to break free from the person who was after her. Ifrit... he was one of the five followers. Squall's mind seemed to be jumping from his thoughts to reality as he heard the rhythmic beeping sound of the heart monitor quickening. She was scared.   
  
"What's happening, Rinoa?"  
  
_She was sure she was seeing things at first, none of this had happened before. More cloaked figures stood behind the man she realised was called Ifrit. All seemed to be following behind him attentively._  
  
"There are three more of them..."  
  
"Three more of these people?"  
  
"...Yes..."  
  
"What are they all doing?"  
  
_She ran. It was something that she had never had the privilege to do before, but here she was now. Running away, not even sure where she could go. As soon as her legs began to flee, she felt that she couldn't stop. Behind her she could hear their heavy footsteps, closing in on her. She could do this. She could run away, maybe they would let her go.   
_  
"Rinoa... what's happening?"  
  
_The green grass she was stood in seemed endless. Scanning her horizons quickly, she realised that there was nowhere she could run to. No help around, just the figures chasing her. Hunting her. Slowing down her fast pace, she realised that there was nothing she could do. Yet, she still needed to try. The air around her suddenly turned freezing, stinging her and numbing her body. A strong-gloved hand grabbed her and pulled her to the ground. She landed hard on the ground, her back aching in pain from the fall.   
_  
"Rinoa... listen to my voice. Tell me what's happening"  
  
_Struggling with all her might to get back up on her feet, both hands were grabbed by the figure, while her kicking legs were pinned down by the two other strange beings. A shadow was cast from above her, she looked up to see the forth figure with the sword held in hand. This was Ifrit, and he was going to kill her. Rinoa watched as he held the sword high above his head, everything was like slow motion again, or he was just testing her. Taking his time to see how much she could take before she broke._   
  
_"Squall..."_  
  
The words were like a trigger. Watching her helpless form was bad enough, but to hear her call out his name. Squall approached Alison, who was still trying to get Rinoa to speak. Whether it was a promise or not, he didn't want Rinoa to go through this. Not after hearing the desperate tone in her voice.   
  
"Stop it," he said calmly. Alison turned to him with a look of understanding in her face, yet something seemed wrong.  
  
"She needs to respond to me, I can't get her out. She needs to do that herself."  
  
It was too much. He couldn't take it anymore. "Just get her out of there now," he said as he heard another muffled shriek escape past her lips.   
  
"No"  
  
The voice was stern. Squall turned around to face Quistis. "She's not staying in there any longer."  
  
"She's got this far, she may as well wait until the end of the dream. I'm not having my chances ruined," she saw the anger rising in his eyes as she spoke the words. Yet she knew what she was doing was right, for research purposes. "Just a little longer, then you can take her out. There's no danger anyway, she's just responding to her dream."  
  
"I don't care if it's dangerous or not, I want her out of there," Squall yelled.   
  
"Can both of you be quiet?" Alison spoke up, "I need her to speak to me in order to do anything, so if you can't be quiet can you both please wait outside?"  
  
Just like young children, the two stood in silence. Realising that neither of them was going to leave, Alison placed a hand on Rinoa's clammy forehead. "Rinoa, listen to my voice. Tell me what's happening."  
  
_The blue sky beyond them disappeared as she closed her eyes tightly. It was almost the end of the dream, she told herself. Just hold on a little longer, and then she would be okay. The swoop of the sword aiming towards her chest was heard cutting through the air. Just a little longer, she'll wake up soon. A sharp pain ran through her body, and her eyes shot open._  
  
All three beings in the office stood silently in horror as they saw the young woman jolt up suddenly, a streak of blood trickling from her mouth and she collapsed back down on the sofa. Rinoa's slow and heavy breathing echoed around the room. For a moment, it was as if time had stopped, only Rinoa seemed to be moving. Then reality set in.   
  
"Get her out now"  
  
Alison was still frozen in shock when she heard Squall speak. How could this have happened? Behind her once again, she heard the pleas from Quistis, demanding her to continue. Then there was Squall's harsh tone arguing back. Bring a shaking hand to touch Rinoa, she turned and looked at her arguing companions. "Stop it, both of you. Just get out and I'll sort this out myself."  
  
He could see it in Quistis' face as soon as Alison had demanded that they leave. She was going to refuse. Quickly grabbing the camera that had been recording the whole process, her threw it against the wall in anger. Satisfied, when her eyes turned to pure shock as she looked down at the broken pieces, he grabbed her and pushed her out of the room. As much as he wanted to stay, he wanted to make sure Quistis was as far away from Rinoa as possible, even if it meant going with her. Squall slammed the door closed behind him, while trying to calm down the cursing Quistis. He hoped everything would be all right.   
  
_She lay there in dismay, as she saw the sword struck through her chest. Her warm blood pouring out and staining the grass, which she lay in. Above her she saw all four figures stop still in front of her, turning to look at each other. There was something about the way they were acting. It was almost as if... this wasn't supposed to happen.   
_  
"Rinoa... please talk to me"  
  
"...I don't want to stay here anymore..."  
  
"I understand... The door that you went through to get into here, imagine it's there in your mind. You're going to step through that door and back into your safe place. Can you reach the door?"  
  
"...Yes..."  
  
"Take a deep breath and open the door. You can see into your safe place, now I want you to step inside your safe place and close that door behind you."

* * *

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Quistis screamed pulling herself out of his grip.   
  
"I could ask you the same question," he responded. "You lied, and put Rinoa's life in danger. How the fuck can you ask me that?"  
  
Leaning against a wall to catch her breath, Quistis looked back at Squall. "Rinoa and me agreed that I'd let her know everything, and she would help me as well. I'm trying to help her out here."  
  
"We don't need your help," Squall spoke, eyeing Quistis "I never wanted her to come to you in the first place. You're a journalist, you say you'll let her know everything, but you haven't told her anything, apart from what a damn symbol means that isn't even the same as she's seeing."   
  
The blonde woman was silent for a moment, before responding, "You broke my camera, I could have used that as evidence. Then I would have let you know more."  
  
"Whatever," he said quietly. "I think it would be best if you leave. I already said before, we don't need you."  
  
Quistis studied Squall, a small smile on her face "If you care about this girl as much as you've shown me tonight, then you'll need my help if you want her to live. If you love her, you need me with you."  
  
Love? He stopped in his thoughts for a moment. If he loves her? The thought had never even entered his mind. His was helping her to survive, but love? Dismissing the thoughts he remained silent, hoping that Quistis would leave Rinoa and himself alone from now on. "Please leave."  
  
"You have my number if you need me," she said with a smile "Just remember what I said."  
  
He watched as she turned on her heels and made her way out of the building. Once she was out of sight, he let out a sigh and leaned is head against the maroon coloured wall. A small click of a door was heard before it opened, he turned his head to see a tired looking Alison. "She's calling for you," she said softly.  
  
Walking back inside the room, Squall saw a fragile looking Rinoa sat on the sofa. She looked up to him for a moment, before the sound of her weeping filled the room, as the tears broke free. Squall sat next to her and pulled her close, realising that he was giving in to his temptations. He stroked her hair tenderly in an attempt to make everything all right, yet he knew it never would._Authors note: Yeah, we're back! I hope that chapter was all right... and made sense. If you want, ignore the 'hypnosis speech' thing; I made it up as I'm not sure how it would be said. Well... yeah, this is the longest chapter I have ever written in my two years of being an author here. Yay! Thank you for reading!_


	15. A Yearning For Tranquility

Hunted By The Shadows

Chapter Fifteen

The rhythmic sound was the only noise that was heard throughout the silent room. Her slow breathing gave him comfort, a security deep down inside to let him know she was still here. He still held her in his arms, her whimpers had long since ceased, yet he still needed to know she was safe. Hold on for just a moment longer. All three of them hadn't spoken a word for the past half an hour. An hour? He wasn't sure, nor did he care. Time wasn't on his mind right now. He just needed to know she was all right.

The sound of shuffling reached his ears as he saw Alison had finally moved from her position sat on the armchair. She was gathering up the broken remnants of the camera, which Squall had smashed against the wall earlier, and placing them in a black bin sat in the corner of the small room. She paced back to take the equipment, which Quistis had brought with her, studying it in her hands for a moment, before placing it on a small oak table, shaking her head slightly as she let out a sigh.

"Do you think she'll be back to collect them?" she asked, noticing Squall watching her.

Squall shrugged slightly, "I don't know," a thought suddenly entered his mind. "I think it would be best if they were destroyed, a part of me doesn't want her to get her evidence."

A small smile crept onto her lips, yet the mood was not a happy one. "I guess your right. What she did tonight was irresponsible and put Rinoa's life in danger. I think a part of her knew this could be dangerous, she just chose to ignore that fact."

The thought that Rinoa could have died tonight played over in Squall's mind and he instinctively wrapped his arms tighter around her. "I guess you two should think yourselves lucky that nothing more happened," Alison stated, noticing a more distant look in the young mans eyes.

"Why did that happen?" her quiet voice asked, sounding a little hoarse as she spoke for the first time.

Alison stopped in thought for a moment, before responding to the girls' question. "You usually have these... visions when you're asleep, right?" The raven-haired girl nodded before the doctor spoke again, "Hypnosis is different from sleep because your subconscious is still awake, as this allows you to say what is happening. That's probably why it affected you, your mind was making it real."

"Or they did want to hurt her," Squall spoke up.

Alison shrugged, "That would be the normal answer, but we're dealing with different circumstances, so I'm not entirely sure."

Rinoa thought for a moment, "It sounds strange, but... I got the impression that I wasn't supposed to actually get stabbed. Everything kind of stopped after that, they seemed confused, like something was wrong even though they're supposed to be controlling my dreams."

She felt Squall's gaze on her, and instead of trying to explain something she didn't understand herself, she leaned her head against his shoulder in exhaustion. Deep down Rinoa couldn't help a small bit of happiness and excitement surround her as the warmth of his arms encircled her. It was something she never expected Squall would do; yet she had yearned this kind of comfort from him for so long. Her thoughts were taken back to the dismal reality as she felt Alison sit back in the armchair and study her for a moment.

"In one of our sessions you spoke about a dream you had, where you were in the cemetery. Are these the dreams you were trying to tell me about?" Alison spoke leaning closer to her, a questioning look in her eye.

"Yes," Rinoa said nodding her head, "but the first dream I had, I was awake playing the piano. I was also someone else in that dream for a moment. Since then they've all been the same, just in the cemetery."

"And you see these people in your dreams all the time?"

"Not at first, I only saw one at the beginning, then I saw that woman. It was only tonight I saw five of them."

Alison nodded her head trying to understand, she wanted to come up with some logical explanation to all of this, but she knew she couldn't. A part of her believed it was something more, "So you said this was the first night you actually got stabbed?"

Rinoa nodded again. The young girl looked exhausted, Alison thought as she watched her features. "Maybe we should all get some rest and talk about this another day. Come back tomorrow and we'll talk some more, maybe even figure this out."

"You want to help us?" Rinoa asked, feeling a little shocked, she always thought that Alison would think she was insane if she ever knew the full truth. Yet she wanted to help?

Alison nodded her head as she stood up and opened the door. "Don't worry, everything will be alright. I'll speak to both of you tomorrow."

The two stood up, Squall's embraced leaving Rinoa's waist for the first time. The warmth of his arms were still present as she said her goodbyes to Alison and leaving her office. Once back outside Rinoa stopped abruptly and turned to face Squall. A sudden feeling of embarrassment filled her as she studied the ground making imaginary circles with her feet. "Can I stay with you tonight?" she asked.

Squall stopped and stared at her for a moment, "Why?" he asked.

"Just after all that has happened, I don't want to go home all alone tonight," she said glancing up at him quickly before staring back at the ground. "I'll be scared on my own, and I'll feel safer with you."

"Oh..." Squall said feeling an idiot for not realising why in the first place. She's just suffered one of the dreams; of course she wouldn't want to be alone. He stood in silence for a moment, watching her features. She stood expectantly with her arms crossed, staring back at him.

A sigh escaped her lips as she took a step closer. "So can I?" She had almost forgotten how difficult it was to get this man stood in front of her to speak sometimes.

"Sure," he said before walking again in the direction to his home. He felt a warm hand grab his and their fingers entwined as she caught up with him. For a moment he thought about pulling his arm away, but he stopped himself as the same tranquillity as before spread through him.

* * *

The woman looked around her office one last time, taking note of her surroundings. She had placed the equipment in a cupboard, which she would destroy another day. Something was building inside of her, a yearning to help the young girl that trusted her to do hypnotherapy. Alison turned the light off to her office before closing and locking the door behind her. Since the two had gone, she had sat in thought wondering what could happen next. She could just ignore everything that had happened tonight, and continue with her life full straightforward facts, or help Rinoa. Even though she had no idea where to start to look, it was her job to help people, and this she felt, was no exception.

Stepping out of the building and walking beneath a blanket of stars, she made her way towards her destination. Through the streets of Deling City, she could just see the illuminations from the front of the Galbadia Hotel. Quickening her pace, she ran the short distance and stopped in front of the hotel. Pushing open the glass door she entered inside and made her way down the spiral stairs towards the bar.

Alison studied the room full of residents, searching for Quistis, not really sure if she would even be here. A lone blonde woman, sat at a table in the corner, caught her eye. Walking towards the table she looked down on the woman, who was holding an alcoholic beverage in her hands, and looking deep in thought. Alison took a seat by the woman and studied her for a moment.

"Here to gloat?" Quistis responded coolly as she sensed Alison beside her. Raising the glass, she gulped down all of the brown liquid in the glass, before placing it down on the table.

"You put a young girls life in danger," Alison said watching the drunken woman "I really should gloat, but I can't, because I'm scared that Rinoa will die. I could report to your boss and get you fired, you know?"

"Too late," the woman said quietly, picking up another glass on the round table.

Anger was quickly rising in Alison, and she really hoped Quistis wasn't saying what she thought she was. "You what?"

"I already got fired," she repeated "This is the story which will get me my job back. Those good for nothing bastards will treat me with some respect this time."

The young woman watched Alison's shocked features, as she swallowed another mouthful of alcohol. "You know, they always made me do the dirty work for them. I always had to write small little articles on stupid things that no one cares about. I wanted to write something new, so I did my own investigation. Sure I skipped a few jobs for my own stories, but they just don't get it. When I get this finished they'll be sorry they fired my ass. In fact, I'll be firing their asses."

"Are you serious?" Alison asked, angered by this drunken woman's confession. "You're not even a qualified journalist and you're putting other people's life in danger."

"But I will be a journalist. I have all the information; I just need evidence, which is what tonight was for," Quistis stumbled through her drinking, "That was until that good for nothing Squall broke my camera. My other evidence is useless without video footage."

"I hope you feel ashamed of yourself now," Alison responded. A sudden thought entered her mind as she watched Quistis in such a vulnerable state. "Tell me everything you know."

"What?" Quistis said sloppily placing her glass on the table "There's no way I'm going to tell you everything, this is my story and you're not taking it away from me just because I made a stupid mistake."

"I know, which is why I'm making you an offer," Alison said with a smile "You tell me everything, and I'll become a witness to what happened tonight."

Quistis raised an eyebrow, "And why would you do anything like that for me? You're not deceiving Rinoa for the chance of a lot of money are you?"

Alison shook her head, "Unlike you, I'm risking something to help save a friend," she leaned closer placing her head in a hand, "So how about telling me all you know?"

* * *

The tiredness was taking over his senses as he stared at the old piece of paper in his hands. Trying to ignore his yearning to sleep, he concentrated on the drawing. Ellone had drawn five followers, in the front was the figure holding the sword. Squall gazed down at it for a moment, remembering back to earlier on that night. Rinoa had said his name was Ifrit. Squall took the black book in his right hand, looking from the drawing to the book in thought. Ifrit... he recognised that name.

_Myth has it that Hyne had five followers when he created the world. He granted each one of them with a special power for helping and being the first to believe in him. The first follower was called Ifrit. Hyne granted Ifrit the power of fire._

Flicking through the pages, Squall read the story once more. There were five figures that came to Rinoa during the hypnosis. She said that more of the figures came gradually. First came Ifrit. _The first follower was called Ifrit. _He thought back to what else Rinoa had said. She had seen someone else, he realised as he thought back to their conversation earlier. After returning to his apartment she had explained everything about her dreams, he knew it hurt her but he could tell she wanted to tell him. She saw a woman.

_The second follower was a young lady named Shiva. Hyne granted her the power of ice._

Squall looked back at the picture. In the front stood a woman next to the armed figure. Ifrit and Shiva, he guessed. Behind then were three more. Three more cloaked figures, all faces hidden, just like Ifrit.

_The third follower, Quetzacotl was given lightning. Leviathan was given water and finally Pandemona was granted with the power of wind._

_The five followers, now with these new powers agreed to Hyne that they would take responsibility of being in charge of the elements they had been granted._

The followers of Hyne were the ones killing them? Why kill Ellone, and all those other people? Why Rinoa? He stopped in his thoughts a moment as something caught his eye. A shadow on the floor from the coffee table seemed to be moving. Confused, Squall turned away, thinking that he was probably imagining it; he hadn't exactly got much sleep lately. Turning back to the book he was surprised to see more shadows around his room, all stretching across his wall. He watched in awe as he saw all the shadows in his room seemed to be stretching out, as if the sun were lowering, but it was already night. He watched as the shadows made their way across the walls and ceiling, until they gathered together at a doorway. He stood to his feet as he realised within the door lay Rinoa, asleep.

Stepping towards the door, he noticed that it was completely covered in darkness. A panic suddenly burst through him as he touched the handle, and quickly pulled his hand away. It was freezing cold. Reaching back to the handle, he tried opening the door, but it wouldn't open. Fear struck him as he began pounding on the door trying to wake Rinoa. Hearing nothing from the other side, he tried again to open the door, this time using more force. Again, the entrance remained tightly shut. Squall backed up a few steps and lowering his shoulder he accelerated towards the wooden frame. He smashed against the door hard but it didn't budge.

The shadows on the wooden surface seemed to lighten slightly, then withered away, back to their normal places throughout the room. Touching the handle again, it was a normal temperature; he twisted the handle and the door opened. A sudden relief spread through him as he made his way inside the dark room. He could hear small whimpers, and as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw Rinoa sat up in bed crying.

She turned to him as soon as she felt his presence near by. "I thought that my dreams would be normal, but there were five of them again," she said through her tears. Rinoa felt the bed shift as he sat down near her and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his shoulder, welcoming the comfort. Something still didn't feel right for her though; there was still a feeling deep down inside her that was darkening, losing hope. Lifting her head up she faced Squall. "Tell me everything is going to be alright," she cried, "We are going to make it aren't we?"

Squall couldn't help but turn his head away as she demanded him to answer. He wasn't going to lie to her, not now. The truth was he didn't know, he wanted to say something positive at this moment in time, but he couldn't. They were getting to Rinoa, and because of that, he realised that they were getting stronger. The memories of those crawling shadows still lingered in the back of his mind. He could feel her warm breath on his neck, as she held on to him tighter, becoming weaker as he didn't answer her. Lifting a hand he stroked her hair gently, as an attempt to give her some security, yet he knew now that nothing he could do would help her.

"You know that I'm going to die soon," he heard the whispered words escape past her lips. It pained him hearing her say that, but he knew that it was probably true. Placing his right hand under her chin, he lifted her head to face his. Their eyes locked for a moment, and he searched her eyes, trying to find some bit of happiness. Some small trace that made her the person she was when he first met her. There was only fear and sadness visible in her eyes. For a moment, he forgot all about his past, and his fears. Before he was aware of his actions he felt the gap between them close as their lips met. The softness of her lips danced against his, sending a burst of emotions through his veins.

A screaming voice in the back of his mind pulled him back down to reality as he slowly pulled away from her. Not now, he told himself, he had got this far without showing his weakness against her. Letting go of her waist, he turned his head away. He felt her hands grip around his arm and pull him back gently.

Rinoa imitated his actions from before by caressing his face to make him look at her. "Stay," she said softly, "I don't want the future. I want the present to stand still. I just want to stay here with you..."

Seeing a softer look in Squall's eyes, she took the opportunity to close the gap between them once again. This time, the kiss was more passionate as she allowed him to explore within her mouth. She felt Squall's arms wrap around her, holding her tightly. Deep down she was glad that this time he didn't pull her away, as she felt her body being lowered back down onto the bed. For the first time today, she realised what kept her holding on to life, for just a little longer.

_Authors note: Yeah, it sucks I know, but you trying to write an intimate scene with your brother right next to you! I had to hide behind my curtain! Anyway, I hope the romance was all right, at least satisfactory? I'm no good at writing romance anyway! Oh yeah and in case no one noticed, the sentence 'I don't want the future. I want the present to stand still. I just want to stay here with you' is from the game where Rinoa and Squall are in space. I've been playing the game again recently, and that sentence kinda stuck with me, I just really wanted to use it in this story! I'm sorry if I made Quistis a little too bitchy at times as well, she is a nice person deep down, just very passionate about becoming a journalist I guess... Thanks for reading!_


	16. Absolution

Hunted By The Shadows

Chapter Sixteen

The morning sunlight streamed through the small crack between the curtains, letting light spill into the dull room. He watched silently as she lay within his arms, feeling her warm breath blowing on his arm. Every so often he would see her eyes flutter open slightly, showing him that she was still awake. He guessed she had been like this the entire night, her mind needing rest but her fears taking over just as she was about to go into a deep slumber. And it killed him to witness.

He stroked her head gently, bringing the loose strands of hair out of her eyes. He hated seeing her like this, she was afraid. The hypnosis had made matters so much worse. She had been physically hurt as well as emotionally. Looking in her eyes, he could see a desperation within her longing for all of this to be over. He wished he could take away everything that had happened to her, but he knew he couldn't. The only thing he could do was hope the answers would soon become clear. There were no more doubts in his mind; he needed to keep Rinoa safe, even if it meant risking his own life.

Squall watched as her eyes slowly lost their battle as they closed shut once again. He observed her porcelain features in silent admiration; the peace was something he had to take the time to enjoy. Whilst Rinoa was tired, he was also suffering from exhaustion. He had searched years for answers, but within this small time he had known Rinoa, he had discovered more now than ever before. Yet he was struggling with the fears of losing someone else.

So tired. Her eyes could barely stay open for a few seconds, without falling closed again. She hadn't slept at all. Being within the arms of Squall was nice, but still the dreams were something she didn't want to face again. Not now. Not after everything that happened the day before. She could feel a big part of her losing this battle in her mind, the battle to keep on top of everything. Just simply brush it away as if it were nothing but a dream. But it was so much more than that, and she knew that she couldn't fool herself.

Rinoa heard a horrible noise in the distance. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, in hopes that the noise would go away, but it still rang out. Opening her eyes, she recognised that the noise was coming from her phone. Sleepily sitting up in bed, she reached her arm out lazily to her jacket in order to retrieve the phone. Pressing the answer button she raised the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered, groggily.

"Rinoa, it's Alison," a familiar voice spoke back. "I have a lot of information to give you from Quistis, and I have no patients this morning so come by soon."

"Okay," Rinoa answered pulling a lock of hair behind her ear, "I'll be there soon. Thank you Alison."

Ending the phone call Rinoa turned over her shoulder to study Squall looking up at her expectantly. Leaning further down to his level, she propped herself up on her shoulders. "Alison has information for us," she spoke.

"Maybe we should go visit her," Squall said. Rinoa nodded her head, leaning forward slightly placing a quick kiss on his lips before getting dressed.

* * *

Stepping inside the homely office, Rinoa turned to face Alison who was sat in front of a small desk facing her computer monitor. Upon seeing the pair's arrival, Alison stood from her seat and stepped towards Rinoa. "How are you feeling today?" she asked concerned, remembering what the girl had been through the previous night.

"Feeling a lot better than the last time we met," Rinoa answered. "You said you had some information for us?"

"Ah yes," Alison spoke, gesturing for them to sit on the leather sofas. Sitting down herself, she turned to face the two. "Last night I kind of ran into Quistis, she seemed in a bit of a state. We had a little conversation, and she revealed all you information I think you'll need."

Rinoa felt something rise inside her as she looked over at Squall with a smile on her features. It felt nice to have some good news from someone she trusted. "What did she say?" Rinoa asked, still unable to stop the excitement building inside of her.

"This whole ordeal has been going on for over five hundred years," she started, thinking back to what Quistis had informed her. "Before that, all five of them were human. There's a story of Hyne where he has five followers, which helped him aid the Earth. Ifrit, Shiva, Leviathan, Quetzacotl and Pandemona. He granted them all elemental powers as a gift. Over time they grew jealous of humans. It's written that some had a special connection with the Earth, so the five followers grew resentful and began to kill them. Hyne found out and locked their souls away, knowing he'd made a terrible mistake at trusting them."

"The five followers are the people who haunt your dreams. Over time people forgot about the followers and they became just a Myth. Nothing happened until a war five hundred years ago. A soldier called Seifer Almasy fought in the war. His comrade became injured during battle, so the two went off on a beach nearby for safety. They found a small cave and hid in there. The details are vague, but Seifer became obsessed over something he found in there. A small glow from deep within the cave. He was killed; apparently five people came from the cave and killed him. His friend was found, and managed to tell the story before dying shortly after from his injuries."

"His friend did state Seifer's sword was stolen by one of the five 'spirits', as they were called back then. Nothing ever really happened after that, as many people thought that he was just delusional before death. Since then there have been random killings through time, all with similar patterns of killing. It's said that the leader, Ifrit, always does the killing while the others watch closely behind. Some victims have told in their diaries how in their dreams they hear screams of the dead coming from his sword."

Squall listened to what she was saying. He realised that these were the followers of Hyne, but there was still too much to understand. Why? An even bigger question filled his mind. "How do we stop them?"

Alison looked at him for a moment, then her gaze turned to the floor. "I'm afraid I don't know," she replied. "There haven't been any survivors, so no one knows."

Sadness grew within Alison as she saw the more optimistic look in Rinoa from a few moments ago slowly fade. "I'm sorry," she said quietly as she watched the young girl. "That's all Quistis told me."

"Do you think she knows how to stop them?" Rinoa asked.

Alison thought for a moment, and then shook her head. Quistis had been in such a state last night, she was positive she hadn't kept anything else secret from her. "I guess I can try and ask her again, but I think that it is very unlikely."

"Is there anything else we need to know about these five followers?"

Turning to face Squall, Alison shook her head once more. "I've told you all I know. I don't think there is anything else to say about their lives. The only other thing is how to get rid of them..." she trailed off slightly, returning to her thoughts. She tried to think of a logical explanation of how to stop all of this happening. But she couldn't.

"They're in love."

Both Alison and Squall turned to face Rinoa's unexpected statement, a look of confusion on their faces.

"I felt something, during the hypnosis and in my dream," Rinoa started. "When Shiva is stood there, I can see something in her eyes. She's sad, but whenever Ifrit comes, she seems to look happier. It's like... I know what she's feeling. She's in love with him."

Alison stared at Rinoa for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Rinoa said with a nod, "She's desperate to be with him, which is why she helps him kill these people. She loves him that much." She stopped for a moment glancing over at Squall, "I can feel all of her emotions in my dreams."

Glancing at her watch, Alison looked up at Rinoa and Squall again. "I'll see if I can speak with Quistis again soon, she didn't mention anything about them being in love."

Rinoa stood from her seat, "Thank you Alison," she said with a slight smile.

"One more thing..." Alison started, glancing over at Squall with a nervous feeling in her stomach. "Quistis isn't a journalist."

Confusion spread through Squall's eyes for a moment as he stared at her. "You what?"

"She used to be a journalist... but got fired," Alison explained. "This is her idea of getting back in the business. Don't worry though, I won't let her get away with the danger she's caused towards Rinoa."

Squall nodded in understanding before the two left her office. He really didn't want to stay there much longer. A lot of information had been revealed, yet he still had no clue to how he was supposed to end this. He was fighting blindly in a battle he didn't understand. He only hoped the two could survive.

Once outside, Rinoa turned to Squall suddenly. "I have to get back home," she said quietly. She really didn't know why she felt the need to leave him; she just felt like she wanted to be alone for a while.

Squall studied her for a moment, puzzled by her sudden actions. "You okay?" he asked.

Rinoa nodded her head, "I just need to get back, and you should get some rest anyway," she said looking up at him, "Come by later, okay?"

Squall nodded his head. "I will," he responded.

"Thank you for being there for me," she said as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Squall returned the action, her arms holding her close to his chest. She took the opportunity to dig her head closer into the warmth of his body, acting as a shield to protect her from the cool wind that swept her raven hair wildly around. "Thank you, Squall," she pulled back from the hug to place a kiss on his cheek, her soft lips pressed gently against his skin.

She waved goodbye and then turned on her heels to make her way down the cobble stoned path. Wrapping her arms over her chest, her legs carried her to her unknown destination. She really had no clue where she was going; she just wanted to be alone for a while. Not really taking note of the familiar surroundings, she finally gave in to her exhaustion from the previous nights lack of sleep, and decided to make her way back home.

Sensing something behind her, she turned her head to look over her shoulder, where she saw a black car pull up by the side of the road. Although the windows were tinted in the back of the car, she had a feeling by the expensive look of the vehicle, who it was.

The glass window slid down smoothly and a familiar face could be seen observing Rinoa for a moment. She made an effort to give a smile, although she was not in the mood to have a conversation with her father at the moment. "Rinoa..." he started "You going somewhere?"

"I was just going home," she said thinking of an excuse. "I have a lot of things to do."

"Maybe I could give you a ride home?" he asked his daughter.

Rinoa opened her mouth to decline his offer, when something stopped her as she looked down at the man. A sudden realisation entered her mind and before she realised what she was doing, she was already making her way around the other side of the car. Once sat inside, the general gave the directions of her apartment to his driver before turning to her again.

He could see from her appearance that she wasn't comfortable in this current situation. She sat with her arms folded as her gaze was fixed on the scenery outside the window. "Alison phoned me this morning," he spoke, in order to try and break the silence that was forming. For the first time since the car had started moving again, she turned her attention away from the window.

"She did?" Rinoa said, studying her father while a dreading feeling was spreading through her veins. She wouldn't tell him, would she?

The general nodded his head, with a slight look of confusion on his features, "She wanted to cancel our appointment this morning because she had an unexpected meeting to attend to," he said still looking at his daughter, "You act as if you didn't know, she informed you as well didn't she?"

"Yeah," Rinoa said, trying to sound normal. She had completely forgot about the session all three of them had this morning. How could it have just slipped her mind? "Yeah she did," Rinoa repeated looking at the leather seats she was sat on. She could still feel her father's eyes lingering on her, but tried to ignore it. For a moment, she cursed herself inwardly at accepting his offer. She wished she had stayed with Squall, then maybe she wouldn't be trapped in here.

Another silence passed between the two, and as every moment went by the aggravation was spreading to Rinoa. The journey wasn't long, but today however, it seemed like an eternity. Eventually the car came to a stop and she politely looked over at her father to thank him. Then another thought came to mind.

"_How do we stop them?"_

"_I'm afraid I don't know...there haven't been any survivors, so no one knows."_

She opened the door trying to ignore everything that was happening. It had nothing to do with him, yet didn't he have a right to know? No. She turned to him to see a concerned look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Rinoa looked away from him sadly, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to fall. "I don't know..." she whispered, "You can't help me." _No one can, _she added silently. _I'm going to die. _The thoughts repeated over and over in her mind.

_"There haven't been any survivors..."_

Rinoa turned her head towards the open car door. Looking out, she could see the entrance to a building. If she left quietly now, she'd be back in her apartment in no time. But she couldn't. _I'm going to die. _She couldn't move, only look from her father, to back outside the car door where the cool wind was blowing. He looked at her expectantly, sensing that something was wrong. _Why couldn't she move?_

""Rinoa... let me help you," he said leaning closer to her. He really wasn't sure what was happening with his daughter, but he blamed himself for not being able to help her now, especially when he was right next to her. "I know I wasn't there in the past, but let me help you now."

_I'm going to die. _She listened to the words he had just spoken and turned to him sadly. "I forgive you," she said quietly. Rinoa quickly looked away and decided to finally leave the car. Stepping out she felt a hand grab her wrist gently. Looking back down at her father, a single tear managed to escape the barrier she had been keeping up. She smiled down at him sadly, "Remember I love you, Dad." Slowly she pulled her gaze away from him and made her way to her apartment.

General Caraway looked on as he saw his daughter walk away from him after all that she had just said. He was mystified by his daughter's actions; it left him with two strong feelings building up inside of him. Why had she reacted like that? He could see there was something wrong with her, yet he had no clue to what it was. The other part of him was finally happy. She had forgiven him for everything that had happened in the past. The absolution seemed to have lifted a weight off his shoulders, but this time he was going to be dedicated. He had his daughter back; he needed to help her now.

The sky above was a greying colour as the first few droplets of rain made their way towards the ground below. Taking one last glance at the door of the building his daughter had recently entered through, he turned back to the front of the driver and demanded to be taken back home.

* * *

Walking down the pale cream walls of the apartment block, Rinoa quickly made her way towards her apartment. The tears stinging her eyes as they fell down her face, as she could no longer control them. She tried to stop the empty feeling inside her that was growing bigger everyday. A hole that was uncertain of what the future would hold. Life or death. A big part of her knew that the time spent with her father moments ago, would probably be her last. She just had to say goodbye, without having the burden of unfinished business with her father. Now that was done, she thought she would feel better, but it just gave her a feeling of sadness inside.

Turning the corner, she saw a familiar figure stood at her doorway. She smiled slightly at seeing him, wiping away the tears she tapped on his shoulder, seeing he hadn't noticed her there yet. He turned around to face her, with a small smile on his features. It was one of those smiles that made her feel happy for having him helping her.

"Hi," she said pulling out her keys to unlock her apartment door. Opening the door, she gestured for him to step inside. "I didn't expect you to come here so quickly," she spoke.

Squall shrugged slightly examining her features, noticing her red and puffy eyes showing she had recently been crying, "I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said quietly.

"I'm fine," she lied, sitting down on the sofa.

"You look like you've been crying," Squall pointed out, taking a seat next to her. "You sure you're alright?"

Rinoa looked away, thinking back to the thoughts earlier. "I said goodbye to my father today," she said barely audible. She could feel Squall's gaze on her as he let out a small sigh. The tears began to well up in her eyes again. "I'm scared," she admitted, leaning her head on Squall's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "Really scared."

Leaning his cheek on the top of her head, Squall stayed quiet as she fought with her tears. She was getting weaker; everyday he could see another part of her lose hope. "I promise I'll try my best so it doesn't come to that," he whispered. It was the only promise he could make. Squall knew he couldn't positively say that everything would be all right, because he didn't know himself. He just had to try.

_Authors note: Finally, after three days I've finished this chapter! I was really excited to write this chapter... then I got distracted... then my inspiration went poof! So yeah, I tried my best, and luckily today I got my inspiration back! There's only two more chapters left now. sobs I really enjoy writing this as well. If it comes to an end, what am I supposed to do with myself?! Hopefully there will be lots of action to look forward to in the next chapter. Thank you for your patience!_


	17. Stepping Out Of The Shadows

Hunted By The Shadows

Chapter Seventeen

Darkness everywhere. He tried moving a little further. There was something under his feet, yet he couldn't see anything. Just that taunting thick black around him. He searched all around. Nothing. There was nowhere he could run to, he had to keep walking forwards. _Maybe if he walked a little further, he would be out of here._

He wasn't sure how long he'd been walking for, it seemed an eternity to him. A pointless eternity, where he wasn't actually going to get anywhere. His pace quickened into a run as he saw a small dot of light in front of him. _Maybe if he kept walking that little bit further, he would get out of the darkness._ Away from all of this. He just had to try.

The sound of his footsteps and quick breaths was the only sense that seemed to be working properly at that moment in time. _Just a little further. _The small dot of light was still ahead of him; he tried to quicken his pace again, this time sprinting as fast as his legs could take him. His heart was thumping deafeningly in his ears, while he felt the blood pulsate around his veins as he forced himself forwards. He could see something ahead of him now. _What was that?_ He wasn't sure, as it was too far away.

He slowed down slightly as the object on the floor became more visible. There was someone there. A girl? He took a few more steps forward to take a closer look, and then he suddenly wished he hadn't. Her body was lying limply on the ground, as the blood flowed out of the corpse. He looked on, feeling bile rise to his throat as he saw the scene unfold before him.

The darkness seemed to thin slightly as he saw a door appear ahead of him. He was stood in a familiar hallway, watching down on her lifeless body. The once white nightgown was now soaked with the thick crimson, which was spilling out onto the floor. Her hair dripped into the liquid as it ran out in streams towards his bare feet. _Everything looked familiar now._

It was warm. He looked down to his soaked feet, feeling the blood surround him, just like it did to her. He closed his eyes, unable to witness the scene in front of him. For the first time, he cursed himself for wanting to get out of the darkness. At least in the dark he couldn't see what was around him. Slowly he dared himself to open his eyes again; her body still lay where it had been before. He was only glad he didn't have to see her motionless face.

He stood silent for a moment, unsure of what to do. A part of him wanted to stay with his sister, be with her body, even if she wasn't alive. He still missed her deeply, but another part of him didn't want to stay in this crimson house any longer. He wanted to scream and run away. He couldn't take any of this for much longer.

Slowly he turned his head away from the girl, until eventually his back was facing her. With his eyes fixed on the floor, he stepped away from her body in a slow walk. His feet left crimson footprints on the wooden floor as he made his way back in the direction he came from, until he bumped into something. He saw darkness as his eyes trailed up, and eventually he caught glance of a black-cloaked figure looking down on him. _Ifrit... _

With haste he turned on his heels, in an attempt to run away from Ifrit but instead felt his body being pulled back and slammed against a wall. Squall looked up at Ifrit as he saw him take out a short sword, already smeared in blood. A small symbol was engraved inside the blade. A mourning eye was the last thing he registered seeing, until he felt the blade slice down his forehead, letting the blood fall from his wound and covering his face. He looked up to see a dark shadow disappear. Now he was alone again with her.

Silently he made his way towards what used to be his room, and closed the door behind him as if it was some sort of safety. Leaning against the door he let out a sigh of relief, then a panic suddenly thrust through him as he studied his surroundings. He was back in the hallway. _How was that possible?_ He should be inside his room.

A sudden noise startled him out of his confusion. He looked forward to where Ellone lay. Her body was still in the same position, yet her head had turned to the other side. Her emotionless face was now turned to him. Her eyes seemed to be fixed upon him, as if some sort of trance. He knew however, that she was in no trance. He noticed her face was a pale colour and her lips were a light shade of blue. And it pained him to see his sister like this. It had been so much easier to think of her as some nameless body when he couldn't see her face. But now he recognised her features clearly.

He looked down at her in bewilderment; positive he just saw her move slightly. Taking a step closer, he heard a shallow breath escape past her lips. She blinked, and then a low tone escaped past her lips so unfamiliar to what he could remember her sounding like.

"Go."

* * *

Squall's eyes opened suddenly, and he gasped for air as he awoke from his dream. He sat upright in bed to collect his thoughts. She had been there in his dreams again, unfolding the past once more in his mind. He turned his head back to the direction of a young woman sleeping peacefully. _But this time she had spoken. _Stepping out of his bed he slowly walked in the direction of his bathroom.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Squall let out a long sigh. Usually his dreams weren't so torturous for his mind, but seeing her face. It still haunted his mind, sending shivers down his spine. Her blue lips imprinted in his mind. There was something more, Ifrit had appeared before him. He had never come face to face with any of the followers before. Squall thought back for a moment. _Or had he?_ Turning his gaze back to his reflection, he studied his scar for a second. _What if that was what had happened? _He couldn't remember how he got the scar, only that the injury had occurred on the night his sister had died. After seeing her body, he seemed to have forgotten what had happened. His dreams were always changing slightly, but he never once had dreamed much further than after he'd seen her body. Something always seemed to happen, but it always faded away as if he couldn't remember.

He traced a finger down the scar on his face. _Ifrit. _Suddenly everything made sense now. He had killed Ellone, but he was still there when Squall came. He had attacked him, and then left. _Why hadn't he remembered this before? _

Squall turned around suddenly as he heard footsteps from outside the bathroom. Walking out the bathroom he looked around for Rinoa, but he couldn't see her anywhere. He waited in silence for a moment, but after hearing nothing he supposed his mind was playing tricks on him. Entering back inside the bathroom he let out a yawn. He really hadn't slept much these past few nights; he had been too worried about Rinoa to sleep. He realised that she couldn't sleep alone anymore, she was always too afraid by the time nightfall came. He always saw that look of fear in her eyes as the sun was setting in the sky showing it would soon be dark. So he did the only thing he could do. He always stayed with her until she fell asleep, just to give her at least a little bit of comfort knowing she wasn't alone. Then he always felt the need to be there when she had her dreams. He wished he could be there to stop them, but he knew he couldn't, so instead he watched over her as she dreamt. Trying to calm her when she cried out in fear. It was all he had left to do.

"You should go back now..."

Again the footsteps proceeded, this time he caught a glimpse of the dark haired woman as she walked past the doorway. In confusion he walked back out of the bathroom and looked out again. "Rinoa?" he spoke. Turning off the light he closed the bathroom door behind him, trying to find where Rinoa went. He was sure that she was asleep when he left her. Maybe he had awoken her.

"Don't speak."

Squall turned to the direction of the voice. It seemed to come from his room. He looked towards the room in confusion, he had thought he heard Rinoa, but thinking back now, the voice seemed different. It wasn't Rinoa's voice, yet it seemed so very familiar. Through the dullness of his apartment, he watched as a young woman walked into the bedroom. This time he was sure it was Rinoa, yet another part of him was thinking otherwise. How could it not be Rinoa? There was no one else inside his apartment.

Quietly he made his way back towards his room, a strange feeling engulfing his body. If it wasn't Rinoa, then who was she? Looking into the doorway, he couldn't see inside his room at all. He was sure he was being paranoid, but the whole room was pitch black. _It seemed so much darker. _Stepping closer, he leaned against the doorway for a moment as an attempt to try and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. For a moment he couldn't see anything, then he saw something move slowly. His eyes fixed on two darker shadows. Stood over what he thought to be the bed.

At first he simply passed off the scene as paranoia again, but still he stayed quiet. Just in case. He heard two voices, their low inhuman like voices. He could just make out one to be male, and the other female. Squall stayed in wait as he watched intently on the two unwelcome figures in his room. His eyes adjusting to the light more, he saw as the pair was stood watching over Rinoa. He guessed that she was still in her peaceful sleep, unaware of all that was happening, by the sound of her slow rhythmic breathing. The thought sent shivers down his spine. _Why were they here now? _

The taller figured reached down as if to collect something. He couldn't figure out what the man held in his hand at first. Then he saw that little bit of light in the room reflect off the metal. The sword. Squall felt as if his heart had just been thrust up towards his throat as he tried to stay quiet. Ifrit was here. He only guessed that the female voice he heard was from Shiva. He stayed in wait for a little longer, until he saw Ifrit slowly raise the sword.

Squall stepped forward into the dark room, his feet moving silently as he moved closer to the cloaked figures. Ifrit had now raised the blade above his head, the sword pointing downwards towards the ground. Slowly the man began to make his advance towards the bed. Squall realised what was soon to be done.

Quickly he ran towards Ifrit, his body moving swiftly among the shadows. Before Ifrit had time to react to this intruder Squall leapt towards him, his arms trying to pull the blade away from Rinoa's direction. As Squall's hands grabbed Ifrit's wrists he landed on Ifrit's back. The cloaked figure quickly turned, trying to shake this man from his back. Squall attempted to hold on but soon found his grip failing him as he slipped to the floor, landing against the wall to the right of the bed.

Ifrit turned to face his attacker; his veiled eyes stared down at him. His stare focused on one feature. _That scar. _He thought back to an earlier killing. There had been a boy he had attacked where he had caused a similar wound. He threw the thoughts from his mind, as he spun the blade around in his hand. His footsteps crept closer to the fallen man, his eyes looking up in anger as he waited.

He raised the blade quickly, his arm stretching over his shoulder. It froze for a moment before it began its descent. The blade cut swiftly through the air, accelerating towards its victim. Squall watched the attack and stumbled out of the way of the weapons path. The blade struck the floor hard and Squall took the time to reach a kneeling position. Ifrit didn't waste time in his attacks and had already pulled the blade back. He swung the blade horizontally, close to Squall's head. Squall ducked backwards close to the bed. He now stood between Ifrit and Rinoa.

The shadowed figure stood up straight; his height was much greater than that of Squall. The hood looked down upon Squall, as if examining his opponent. Squall took the time to regain his composure; breathing hard he waited for the next attack to come. No one had ever stopped them but he had to try. That is what he had promised and he would do whatever he could to prevent another death.

Ifrit pulled the blade back to a high position once again preparing for a downward strike. He quickly stepped forward; closing the gap towards Squall, then brought the blade down towards his chest. Squall ducked under the oncoming sword and grabbed at Ifrit's wrists, trying to remove the blade from his possession. He pushed Ifrit's arms sideways and worked on loosening his hands from the sword. Taking advantage of a close by wall, he smashed Ifrit's hands against it. His grip loosened slightly so Squall repeated the action again, and again, until the blade finally fell from his grasp.

He heard the metal fall from Ifrit's grasp and land on the floor. Squall made sure that he was stood in front of the sword as he saw Ifrit stop in his tracks, as if shocked by the loss of his weapon. He averted his eyes towards where Shiva was stood; she was still in the same position she had been since he first caught sight of her. Stood over Rinoa's sleeping form, unfazed, almost as if nothing was happening between Ifrit and himself.

Glancing back Squall saw Ifrit look over his shoulder quickly, then moments later three other figures seemed to emerge from the darkness at the far end of his room. The three cloaked men stood around Squall, trapping him in his place. Squall took a quick glimpse behind him briefly to be faced with the wall, and the sword behind his feet. Watching the four intently as they slowly closed in on him. _If I die, they'll kill Rinoa._

Taking his chances, he quickly ducked down to grab Ifrit's sword. As far as he could see, none of the other figures had a weapon at hand. He wrapped his hands tightly around the blade. Then he screamed in pain. Squall released his hands from the metal and looked in bewilderment as he held his burnt hands close to him. _How can that be...? _The sword had felt as if it were on fire in his hands. He wondered how even Ifrit could even hold such a thing?

Squall looked up helplessly as the four figures stepped even closer to him. They seemed to be taking their time, as if enjoying his moment of desperation to do anything. Like they knew that he would attempt to grab the sword, and then let go in weakness. He gritted his teeth. He hated these five followers so much. They took his sister away from him, and now they were coming for Rinoa. Everything all seemed too slow. As if taunting him. _I hate you. _

Once again Squall ducked down grabbing the short sword in his hands. The sword that had cut through his sister's chest, causing her to bleed to death. He could feel the blade scold his skin, yet at this very moment in time, he didn't care. _Don't take Rinoa away from me. _He looked around at the four figures, now feeling like he was taunting them. He wasn't going to let them win. Not this time.

His breaths became deeper as he held the blistering sword in his hands. The room seemed to be getting lighter. So light that he couldn't see anything anymore. Everything went white. For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. He looked all around him, but there was nothing. Then the white surrounding him seemed to fade slightly. The first thing he saw was a blue sky. It felt warm as the sun beamed down on a field. Squall studied his surroundings. There was a field burning. Within the fire was a small village. Screams could be heard from inside the thick black smoke rising into the sky. He saw a young boy huddled on the ground. A taller man stood over him.

Everything happened so fast. It was as if a wave of fire has washed over the young boy. His panicked form ran through the fields as his skin set alight. He screamed and cried in agony, while the man stood watching him with an emotionless face. It seemed like a small eternity, but eventually the boy's cries died down, and his body lay still in the field. It was then that the man walked away. As if nothing had happened.

Squall felt sickened at the sight. He turned his head away, not wanting to witness anymore of the scene set before him. Once his back was faced to the boy, he could no longer see a field. The scenery had changed. As if he were somewhere else. It was a lot cooler and dark. He saw a blonde man being stabbed to death. The scene changed once again and he saw a young woman being stabbed by the same sword. Even more deaths flashed before his eyes, all from the same sword. Squall felt a pain emerge within him as Ellone's death was flashed before his eyes. The last death was of a man he recognised, although he wasn't sure how. He suddenly realised who it was, as he caught sight of a sleeping woman beside the terrified man. It was Selphie's husband. Finally, everything went dark again and he was back in his room.

The four followers were still stood around him, as they had been before. Only this time, he felt ready to attack them after witnessing everyone they had brutally murdered. Narrowing his eyes, he saw Ifrit take a few steps forward until he was almost directly in front of him. The other three soon followed suit.

Squall braced the sword in his hands, the metal still burning into his flesh. His eyes switched quickly between the four shadows, attempting to keep track of each opponent. A figure on his left stepped forward, his arm reaching close towards him. He quickly spun the blade in a horizontal arc forcing the man to step backwards as the blade cut through empty air. With his attention turned to the left, the two shadows on the right made advances towards him. Squall twisted the blade backwards, sending the blade in the opposite direction to which it had just come. The first shadow ducked backwards avoiding the sharp metal. The sword continued to travel towards the second but just as the blade should have struck, the figure dissolved into the shadows. A few seconds later, he reappeared on the opposite side of Squall.

Seeing that the other three followers were not as close, Squall locked his eyes on to Ifrit. Stepping forwards, he thrust the blade towards Ifrit's stomach. Ifrit dodged back just in time, taking a few steps backwards to examine Squall, who was adjusting his stance to attack again. Thrusting his sword towards Ifrit's direction again, once more his attack missed his adversary.

"Careful Ifrit," a voice called.

Momentarily Squall looked over to see Shiva walking away from Rinoa. He quickly turned back to Ifrit, glancing around at the other shadows every so often just to make sure he wasn't going to get attacked.

"He's just prolonging his death," boomed a male voice, coming from Ifrit's direction.

A small sound of someone breathing caught Squall's attention, and he looked over to see Rinoa starting to stir in the bed. He only hoped that she wouldn't awake. He just wanted this over with, so she would only have to live with seeing the followers in her dreams, instead of seeing them all stood over her like this.

His fears came true as he heard a scream escape past her lips. The sound of her fearful scream made him even angrier that they should come for her. Taking the opportunity at seeing the other followers look towards the direction of the shriek, Squall lunged forward with the sword.

The next few moments happened so fast, and then time seemed to stop. He felt his sword plunge into something, looking up he saw the blade stuck inside a cloaked figure. But it wasn't who he expected it to be. Stood in front of Ifrit was Shiva, her form now looking frail from the injury. The last few moments replayed in Squall's mind again, and he suddenly realised what Rinoa had said was right. Shiva had thrown herself in front of his sword to save Ifrit. Maybe she _was_ in love with Ifrit.

Pulling the sword from within Shiva, Squall stepped back in shock and watched the scene unfold as she fell to the ground. Ifrit, like a human being ran to her side. The thought dawned on Squall, that what he had been fighting against all his life still had feelings like everyone else. He didn't know why, but the thought surprised him.

"Shiva..." the cloaked figured said, crouching down at Shiva's side.

The woman raised a hand to Ifrit's cloaked form. "I can see it," she said weakly, "I can see an end to all of this. The death we have searched for so long... is finally coming."

For a long time, the room was quiet, until Shiva became eternally still as her arm limply fell from Ifrit. Squall watched in awe as he saw her body slowly fade away back into the shadows. It was then Ifrit stood once more, taking a look at Squall for a brief moment before walking away into the shadows. The other three soon followed after him.

Squall stood in disbelief, looking at the empty shadows for a moment, before turning back over to Rinoa. She was sat upright in bed, also in a state of shock. "Did we win?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"I... I don't know," Squall stated. He looked down at the sword in his hands, and finally let the weapon drop to the floor. He briefly recalled Rinoa walking past him to turn on a light, before seeing the blistered burns in his hands from wielding the sword. It was then that the rest of the pain set in as he tried to move his reddened hands. Looking back up towards Rinoa, his head began to feel dizzy. The last thing he saw was the floor closing in on him, and the world going black.

_Authors note: At the beginning of this chapter I think I'd been playing too much Project Zero 2, and it was really hard to write then because I was disturbed by the ending of that game. I hope my feeling of being disturbed has been shown through my writing at the beginning of this chapter, because I wanted this to be emotive as well as having a lot of action involved. Last chapter will be updated soon! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed since the beginning of this story. MyNameIsMoe644, Dark Angels, Ysuran, lady-rinoa, c-kai, Glycerin, Karaoke Risa, Keiry, The Welsh Dragon, lendmemoni, angelofthelions, Renegade Seraph, phrozen-heart, Phoenix Blade and finally zantesuken09. That's everyone since chapter 1! Thank you!_


	18. A Path Of Light

Hunted By The Shadows

Chapter Eighteen

He was somewhere else. The first thought that came to mind when he opened his eyes, where was he? Lying down on a hard surface of yellow. He opened his eyes a little wider, only to be dazed by the bright sun in the sky. Something was prickling the back of his neck. Ignoring the thought, he brought a hand to his face to block out the sun, and looked around his surroundings for the first time. Again, yellow.

He sat up from his lying position and slowly got to his feet. A strange feeling enveloped him as he looked around. He was in a field with no idea of where he was. Yet... as he watched the wheat dance against the current of cool air blowing around him, he couldn't help feeling like he knew this place. It all seemed familiar.

In the distance he could barely see a few buildings, which could be a small village. Deciding that there would probably be a better chance of seeing someone there, he walked to the direction of the few houses. Glancing around his surroundings as he walked, the sudden thought came to mind at how he actually ended up here. Memories came back to his mind, which seemed like not so long ago. He wasn't sure how long ago everything had happened. A few days? Five minutes? Time seemed to have become distorted. He remembered fighting. The anger that rose inside him as he fought the followers. He had killed Shiva. The sword, he stole it from Ifrit. It burned.

Squall looked at his hands. Nothing. He remembered them looking red. He had burnt his flesh because of that sword. Now there was nothing. _How could that be? _Realising that there was no point thinking about something he couldn't explain, he quickened his pace. _He couldn't even explain about being here._

His thoughts were distracted when he saw someone ahead of him. Approaching closer, he realised it was simply a child playing in a field, but figured that maybe there would be some adults around close by. Some wooden buildings stood ahead of him, he guessed that from the state of them, this was quite a poor place. Everywhere seemed so traditional, and by looking at the boy, quite old fashioned.

The young boy seemed to stop playing suddenly as Squall approached close by him, and he just stood quietly. Staring at Squall. Realising that due to Squall's attire and presence in such a village, the boy probably realised he was a stranger. Pushing the thought aside, he continued towards the village.

"Can you see him watching?"

Squall stopped in his tracks, and looked behind him to where the voice had come from. The boy's gaze was still staring at the same spot, even though Squall was ahead of him now. Looking around him, he realised that the boy would be talking to no one else but himself. So he took a few steps closer to the boy, and looked in the same direction the boy was looking in.

In the distance, Squall could just make out a figure of a man stood on a hillside. He turned back to the boy whose gaze hadn't faltered, then back to the man. Although he couldn't make out the mans features properly, it seemed to Squall that he was also looking back over the village.

"He's waiting," the boy said softly.

"Waiting for what?" Squall asked, studying the young boy for a moment. His scruffy short black hair seemed to suit his dirty clothes. Then a sudden realisation came to him. Before when he held the sword, Squall had seen something. A boy had been brutally killed in a field. Looking back at the boy now, he realised that it was the same child he had seen before.

"He's angry," the boy spoke "I'm going to be the first."

"The first?" Squall questioned. He really didn't understand what this boy was talking about.

"You've been searching for most of your life," his gaze turned up towards Squall for a brief moment, before returning back to the man in that distance. "Searching for answers to a puzzle that started before your birth. It seems that you were the only one to watch them do that to Ellone."

Squall's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of his sister's name. "How do you know Ellone?" He asked, "And who are you?"

"She knew you could put an end to this yourself, but to make sure, she came back to you every night," the young boy turned away from the man in the distance to face the field. "You always thought that they were coming for you as well, but they never were. It was just something so you would help us."

"Why would I be forced to help you?" Squall shot back. He didn't understand what was going on.

"For the one you love," the child took a step forward slightly. "And because of a mistake I made a long time ago. I didn't know it would come to this. It was a test."

Squall watched as the child raised his hands and a small fireball seemed to form in his hands. It stayed there briefly, before being released and into the field, starting a small fire.

"The villagers sometimes saw miracles happen, because certain people have an elemental connection to the Earth, but you already knew that didn't you?"

Squall didn't answer. He didn't have time to. The man from the hillside seemed to disappear for a moment, before appearing next to the boy. He watched as the fire grew bigger, and the man stepped closer to the child. Squall watched in disbelief, as the child seemed to duplicate. One version set on fire and screaming, like he had seen before, the other still stood in the same place as before.

"Just as I had expected, Ifrit and Shiva were doing this out of love," the boy explained, "I granted them a gift, as followers they were to aide the people of the earth. It's written that they did it out of jealousy at not being the only ones that had the gift. They lied to the three other followers, when really they knew that because of their gift they couldn't be together in this life."

"When I gave them the gift, it made them almost godlike. They live as long as the Earth lives. However, they were not supposed to love. When they became a Guardian, they gave up their life, without being influenced by love."

Squall looked down at the boy. The small, fragile looking child. _Hyne? _"Why do they kill?" Squall asked, "Why?"

"Because they found out a secret about the Earth. Some people are born with a connection to the Earth and this allows them to do things others can't. But the Earth also uses these people as an energy source, using their energy to help itself live. Destroying every human able to connect means that the Earth cannot live. As the Earth dies, Ifrit and Shiva would get to be together. I granted them the power; it was my fault that this happened, but I couldn't take it away from them as they also had a connection with the Earth, although not naturally."

"I thought they were locked away," Squall thought out loud. He looked up briefly to see that the flaming child and man had disappeared. It was as if... _nothing had ever happened._

"They were," the child replied. "But they became so desperate, they fooled a soldier into freeing them. Being locked in the mortal world allowed them to contact those close by."

Squall thought over everything that had been said for a moment. "Where do I fit into all this?" Squall asked.

"Ellone seemed to have a more powerful connection. Even in death she could take you back to that night when you were asleep, although the dreams would often become distorted as your memories entwined with them. As you became more open about what happened to her, your mind would let her show you more."

"I believe that you're the one who can stop all of this," the boy said, his eyes concentrated on Squall as he spoke with sincerity.

"You said earlier that they're not even after me. Why would I be able to stop them?"

"Because you feel you have to fight, so they don't take the one you love. Because you've seen the pain they can cause. You want to find answers. There are many reasons," the boy responded. "You took his sword and killed the one he loved. He'll be coming back soon to get revenge. When he does, I hope you know what to do."

Squall nodded his head slightly. "What about the other three?" he asked. "I only killed one, there are four more."

"Ifrit and Shiva lied, the other three did what they thought was right. After tonight, they'll realise what the real reason was, and when it doesn't concern them, they have no reason to continue," the boy took hold of Squall's hands and stood silent for a moment. "He'll be coming soon, kill him with the weapon you took from him earlier."

Squall watched as the young boy let go of his hands, and he suddenly saw the scenery around him darken. There were no more fields anymore. He looked back to where the boy had been standing only to see he had disappeared.

* * *

The world seemed to fade in and out of existence. He could feel his body beginning to wake up, his mind waking yet his body refusing to move. His eyes flickered open and he saw his dark room before him. As he tried to move his head he felt a pain shoot through it and the room began to spin in front of his eyes. He closed them for a moment trying to block out the pain that was running through his head.

As he opened his eyes again he saw a blurry figure move before his sight. _Rinoa?_ He watched as the dark-haired figure sat down on the bed and felt his hands being moved. Blinking a few times, his vision cleared, enabling him to see Rinoa sat beside him as he lay in bed. She looked down at him, giving a little smile as she pushed loose strands of hair from his eyes before turning back to his hands, which he saw she was bandaging.

Squall tried bending his fingers, unsure if his hands were still burnt from what he saw previously in his... dream. Hallucination? He wasn't sure. Letting in a sharp breath at the pain, he realised his injuries were still present, so he stayed still until she had finished bandaging his hands, and sat looking at him with a strange look in her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" she said softly, her voice barely audible.

"Alright I guess," Squall responded hoarsely, as he tried to sit up. Once in a more upright position, he looked around his surroundings to see it was still dark. "What happened to me?" he asked.

"You fell unconscious," Rinoa started "I was really worried, if you hadn't of woken up soon, I was thinking of calling an ambulance."

"Don't worry about me," Squall responded seeing a look of hurt shining through her eyes within the dimness of the room.

"But I do," she said quietly, before a smile embraced her features, "You should be grateful you're in a bed, you're a lot heavier than you look."

He watched silently as she looked back down towards him. For a moment neither spoke, not really sure how to approach the situation earlier. They should really discuss what happens next, he knew that, but for the moment he wanted to forget about everything that had happened. Yet he knew that this could never happen. Not tonight.

From the side of him, he saw something shining on the floor. He looked to his left, to be confronted by the sword. The same sword that Ifrit was going to kill Rinoa with, had he not been there to stop those events happening.

"They were never coming for me, Rinoa," Squall said quietly "I thought they were... but they're not."

Rinoa looked at him confused for a moment, "What do you mean?"

"Because of what happened to my sister, and the dreams. I thought we were both going to be victims of them. My dreams were just showing me what I tried to block out," Squall stopped suddenly as he saw something emerging from behind Rinoa. Something dark, and he knew what it wanted.

Rinoa looked at Squall expectantly, seeing that he looked like he wanted to say something. His eyes turned deadly serious all of a sudden, and when he spoke it made her feel she had to obey. "Leave the room, Rinoa."

Without objecting, Rinoa stood and quietly left the room, leaving Squall on his own. Squall's eyes focused on the thick bulging black shadow that was beginning to take form in the corner of the room. Standing from the bed he looked at the sword on the floor and cautiously advanced to the weapon. His hands reached out to grab the blade, but he paused just before he reached it, telling himself it was the only way.

He felt his injuries ache as he moved his fingers in position on the blade. As his grip tightened on the metal he was comforted by a cool feeling. He looked at the blade in confusion; the fire of the sword had been extinguished. Squall lifted the blade as he prepared to face Ifrit, turning around he saw the cloaked figure was stood watching him.

Squall adjusted the sword in his hands, raising it in front of his face. His eyes caught sight of the symbol engraved at the base of the blade. The eye that once wore a tear beneath it had vanished. He realised that this was the Eye Of Faith Quistis had once mentioned. _Perhaps this meant that Ifrit no longer owned the sword? _Pushing his thoughts aside, Squall's eyes locked onto Ifrit's cloaked form. Ifrit flicked his wrist and a small dagger appeared in his hand.

Time seemed to stop as the two opponents stared at each other in the dark room. Shadows appeared to dance around the room, willing the fight to commence. Squall decided to take the initiative, breaking the hypnotic silence that had formed within the room. He quickly stepped up to Ifrit and swung the blade towards his chest. Ifrit's arm moved quickly upwards, wrapping both hands round the handle, he deflected Squall's weapon away to the side. The cloaked figure took advantage of the situation, and extended the dagger towards the recovering Squall. Ducking backwards he dodged the attack, only to see that the dagger had already changed direction and was coming to him again. Quickly he spun the blade in front of his face, managing to fend off the attack.

Squall took a few steps back to recover as he saw Ifrit withdraw another dagger. Squall spun the blade horizontally at chest height hoping to catch him off guard, but watched as his opponent slipped back into the shadows. His eyes darted around the room trying to find Ifrit again. He caught sight of him reappearing at the left of him. Squall didn't waste any time attacking the reforming Ifrit. The blade, lifted above his head, swept downwards through the black mist. Out of nowhere, two daggers crossed each other and stopped the blade in its tracks. Squall's arms jolted at the connection, and he felt his hands hurt as they struggled to hold the weight of the blade. He didn't have time to think about it though, and instead pushed the blade forward, using the daggers for direction, he aimed it towards Ifrit's head. The cloaked head leaned to the left avoiding the blow by inches.

Rinoa stood in the doorway as she watched the fight unfold before her. Squall had told her to leave, but she couldn't. She had to know what was going on. How could she leave Squall to fight alone? She felt so helpless. She couldn't help Squall fight Ifrit, yet she hated just standing there watching. Rinoa cringed as she saw Ifrit's blades journey close to Squall. At the moment she felt Squall and Ifrit were evenly matched, she only hoped that Squall's injuries wouldn't be a disadvantage as the battle continued.

Squall breathed deeply as another attack failed to strike Ifrit. Whatever he did he was unable to strike his opponent. He noticed Ifrit had taken a few steps backwards, and without warning he watched as a dagger flew past his shoulder barely missing him. The dagger struck the wall behind him loudly as it became embedded in the plaster. He returned his gaze back to Ifrit's position, only to see empty air. He had disappeared again.

He looked around, a shadow seemed to move about the room but just as Squall saw it, it would have disappeared again. He heard a noise behind him and turned to see Ifrit pulling the dagger from the wall. Rearmed, the cloaked figure prepared another attack. He quickly approached Squall, his advance silent as he moved through the dark room, and swung the daggers in a diagonal direction. Squall tried to parry the attacks but the blades moved quickly and he felt his feet unconsciously backing away from his enemy, until he ended up against the wall.

He had nowhere to go. He looked at the dark hood that loomed in front of him, even this close he could not make out any features below the cloak. Ifrit paused, examining his rival, before pulling a dagger backwards, preparing for the final attack. Squall decided to counter quickly realising that he had to act now. Ifrit had already realised the danger of the weapon, and his other dagger moved position deflecting the blow and pinned the sword by Squall's side. Ifrit's fingers twitched around the dagger as he realised the imminent kill. He thrust the blade towards Squall's chest.

Squall watched as Ifrit was knocked to the side, just as the blade was about to hit him. He looked on as he realised Rinoa had pushed Ifrit to stop him killing Squall. Rinoa looked back at Squall in silence for a moment, a tear trailing down her cheek as she looked at him in desperation. For a moment their eyes locked, and he realised that she had saved his life. Then she let out a scream.

Squall felt puzzled for a moment at her actions, before seeing the blood pour from her, as she collapse to the floor clutching her side. Anger rose in his eyes, as he saw the blood stained metal glistening from Ifrit's dagger. Gripping his own sword tighter, he watched as a small light came from Ifrit's hand. Just like he had seen the boy doing earlier, Ifrit let the fire grow in his hands, before it flew in Squall's direction, knocking him to the ground with a hard force.

Landing on the floor next to Rinoa, he saw the cloaked man approach closer until he was stood over Squall. Glancing to his left, Squall saw the blood pouring from Rinoa and staining the carpet. A pool of crimson was beginning to form around Rinoa's body as he felt the warm liquid touch his fingers. _It was just like before. _His eyes met Rinoa's briefly, before turning back towards Ifrit who was raising the dagger. _All seems so familiar._

The dagger came down swiftly towards Squall's direction, as he lay, now able to feel the burning sensation in his hands again. _I've failed? _He heard the sound of the dagger cutting through the air, and Rinoa's quickened breaths.

I won't let you fail... 

He had to try. That was a promise he made to Rinoa, and he planned to keep it. With shaking hands, he grabbed the sword, breathing in a sharp breath from the pain of his injuries. _Why didn't it hurt before? _It didn't matter to him anymore. Gripping the blade tightly. He thrust the weapon up.

Darkness filled the room, and from above him, he could just make out Ifrit's form. He saw the cloaked mans figure descending closer to him slowly. Probably to kill him. Ifrit's form moved downwards, Squall then saw the blade of the sword struck through Ifrit's body, and sliding down the blade, until his body disappeared into the shadows.

There was nothing left. Squall looked at the empty air, where Ifrit had once been. Scanning the room, in case he was going to attack again. Looking around, he saw nothing. Then his eyes rested down onto Rinoa. She looked weak. Quickly, Squall got to his feet, tearing a sheet from his bed and applying pressure to Rinoa's wound in attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Rinoa..." Squall said weakly, as his hands became drenched with blood. "Speak to me."

She didn't reply, only raised her hand weakly and touched his arm. He looked down at her injured form. _It's happening again. _He tried to erase the thoughts that were running through his mind. _Just like what happened to Ellone. _But he couldn't. The warm feel of the blood, as it stained her nightgown. It all seemed too familiar.

"Don't let that happen."

The voice came from out in the hallway. Briefly he looked to where it had come from, before looking back at Rinoa. "Hold that there for me," he said placing her hands on the sheet. "I'm calling an ambulance"

Squall quickly got to his feet and made his way to the phone in the living room of his apartment. Picking up the receiver, he called the emergency services, giving them the correct details before placing the phone back down. He made his way back towards his room, but stopped briefly along the way. "Thank you, Ellone" he said before returning to Rinoa.

* * *

The large fields could be seen in almost every direction as the wind blew through the air softly. The boy sat quietly in the field looking up towards the sky, observing the different shapes of the clouds, like most carefree children do. The bright sun in this tranquil place warmed the ground below as it beamed down. He knew he had been here for too long now. He should have taken responsibility, before trusting five mortals. They were imperfect, full of emotions, and easily led by temptation. How could they just give up their nature for even him?

From behind him, he heard the sounds of footsteps making their way towards the boy. He turned to look over his shoulder briefly to study the three men, before returning his gaze back towards the sky. "You were fooled," he spoke, taking in a deep breath. He was silent for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the warmth on his face.

After a short time of silence, the boy finally stood to his feet, and turned to the three men. All in their human form, how they looked before they became twisted in a web of lies. "You no longer need to hide yourselves away in the dark," he said, watching as the three got down on their knees in prostration.

"We apologise," one of the men spoke.

The boy looked on at the three men, as they bowed down to him. They had made mistakes, but he knew he had made the biggest mistake of all to trust them. "Become the Followers you intended to be," he said "Just remember what path you chose to take before, and stay clear of it, if the choice ever comes by again."

The young boy turned his back to the men again, and looked out in the distance. "Come," he spoke as he began to walk out into the fields "We must leave this place now."

The three remaining followers stood to their feet, following their leader once more.

* * *

Looking out the window of his apartment, Squall watched down on the streets of Deling City. The once busy roads had now cleared, as the sun had set in the sky. The lights from the many buildings now illuminated the night sky. Pressing a hand against the cool glass, Squall looked up towards the stars in the sky briefly, before turning back to his small apartment.

Picking up a box, Squall walked out of the door, closing it behind him as he made his way out into the cool night. He walked down a small gravel path, making a short walk out of the City. He stopped in his tracks briefly as he saw a figure just ahead of him, upon seeing her stood patiently, he quickened his pace. She was stood facing a small fire, which had been lit, watching the embers fly from the flames.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to face Squall. "You're late," she said with a smile as she saw him approach closer to the fire, placing a box down on the rocky ground.

"Sorry," he said facing her, "I wanted to make sure I had everything."

Rinoa giggled slightly at the serious tone in his voice. "I'm sure the doctors won't be very pleased with you for keeping me waiting out here," she responded, placing her hands carefully on her hips with a playful smile.

He smiled. He honestly couldn't help the expression on his features. She was that happy person again, just like she was when he first met her. "How are you feeling?" he asked, thinking back to those long days he had spent in hospital with her. The doctors had told him that no serious damage had been done to her, she had a deep cut in her side, but through time her wounds would heal. He hadn't left her side at all during her stay in hospital; it had all seemed too good to be true that Ifrit hadn't killed her. He didn't dare leave her side, just in case something happened to her while he was gone.

Rinoa looked back at him, instinctively putting her hand on her side, "It still hurts," she said "but it could have been worse than it was." She looked to the floor, kicking gently at stones around her feet. From the side of her she could hear Squall rummaging through the box he had brought with him. She watched as he began throwing old newspaper cuttings and books into the fire, hearing the cracking noises as the flames swallowed them.

Squall continued to throw all his research into the flames. He was going to just throw everything away, not really feeling to need to keep his research, but Rinoa had suggested burning them. She had wanted them both to put everything that had happened behind them now. Deep down, he knew that neither of them could actually forget what had happened. It was something that had changed them both. It had also bonded them together, he thought about how he would be now if he had never taken the courage to ask about the picture, or if he had just pushed her away. Pushing the thought aside, he worked on burning the rest of his research.

He knew Rinoa was right. They should put this all behind them and move on. He had no reason to find articles on the killings anymore. Squall stopped abruptly as he looked down at an article in his hands. Beneath it was a drawing. _Ellone_. He studied it for a moment, briefly reading through the article on his sister.

"Maybe you should keep it," Rinoa said quietly as she realised why he had stopped. It was one thing throwing away research, but this was his sister. She defiantly didn't want him to forget his sister, and to Rinoa, this felt like burning away her memory. Rinoa saw Squall glance up at her briefly, before turning back down to the article in his hands. With one swift motion he put it within the flames, along with everything else.

"I would rather keep my memories," she heard him say. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she squeezed it gently to let him know that she was here. She watched the last traces of the article slowly disappear into ashes as the fire continued to burn, lighting up the small area around them. They stayed silent for a moment, neither really sure of what to say, as they watched the flickering flames.

"Do you think they're together," Rinoa said finally, breaking the silence.

Squall looked at her, slightly puzzled at whom she was talking about. "Who?"

"Ifrit and Shiva," she replied. Truthfully, she had no idea why she was thinking about them. They killed many people throughout the years, yet at the same time, she felt like their love was some sort of tragedy. Neither of them were heartless spirits. They were just trying to be together.

"I don't know," Squall said after a moment of thought. He saw Rinoa look at him briefly, before returning her attention back to the fire before them.

"I hope so," she spoke, looking beyond the light glowing from the fire and into the darkness of the night. She leaned her head against Squall's shoulder, and returned to silence as the flames danced in front of them.

* * *

The morning breeze blew through the town, leaving a freezing atmosphere as the girl made her way along the cobble path. Wrapping her arms around herself to try and keep warm, she continued to walk, looking up at the sky. The sun could be seen, giving warmth, between the regular gusts of wind.

Making her way down the path, she approached a black metal gate. Opening it with her gloved hands she made her way into the church grounds, as the frozen grass seemed to crunch beneath her feet. Remnants of snow still lay on top of building roofs and walls, and were starting to melt in the sun.

The young woman stopped in front of a stone slab, stuck in the grass. Her emerald eyes gazed down onto the engraved letters. Somehow today felt different. The brunette crouched down on the ground to get a little closer to the gravestone. She never had been this close before. She never dared. Usually whenever she came here, it was like looking at a person's grave she didn't even know.

She would normally see the young age engraved in the stone, thinking to herself what a tragedy this must have been. Irvine Kinneas. She would feel sorry for those that knew the man. The twenty-two year old who was murdered in his sleep. _What a tragedy. _It was always easy to pretend that she didn't know this person. How could a stone slab be the man she married?

Today felt completely different. In a way, she wanted to imagine that it was still a stone slab. It shouldn't have to mean anything. But stood here now, she could feel something. It almost felt like he was there with her, saying everything would be all right. If she closed her eyes, she could picture him there beside her, the mischievous look on his face she used to adore. Opening her eyes again, there was nothing. No one there to comfort her, or hold her. Just the memory, and feelings that he was lingering around this grave somewhere.

Letting out a deep sigh, she stayed by the grave in hopes that maybe one day he would come back, but she knew he wouldn't. She had slowly deteriorated over the long and painful months since his death. Slowly lost her once positive and upbeat attitude. Now there was nothing. She was like a robot, going to work everyday, only to return to an empty house, and wait until the next day came. She couldn't move on. Not when there was always a voice at the back of her mind telling her that he would come back for her.

She shivered from the cold weather, or maybe the thought that had come to her this morning. Here she could feel his presence, it was like he belonged _here, _surrounded by the dead. Never to return again. Today she realised, that he was never coming back. She never would see him again.

Selphie looked around her, taking in the feelings of him being there. Sensing him watching her. Then it slowly seemed to fade away, as if it had been blown away by the wind. She looked back at the grave. The stone slab held nothing once more. _He was gone. _

She cried.

_Authors note: Oh my god... this is the last chapter. I'm so upset! Sorry if the ending sucked, initially it was all going to be happy, but I wanted there to be something more to it to show that there's never truly a happy ending. Ooo going all deep now. I'd like to thank my brother for writing the action scenes and helping me with this story! Also thank you to those who have reviewed, it's been fun reading peoples comments, and they always make me smile. Umm... I'm all emotional now lol. This chapter was over 5000 words, so I hope you enjoyed it and didn't think it was too corny... I guess all I can say is look out for more stories in the future from us. I already have another one planned! This time I'll be working on my own though. Thank you everyone, it's been a great experience! Please leave one last review._


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